Introduction of active learning and student readership into the teaching of pharmaceutical faculty

Abstract

We have introduced improvements and new approaches into our teaching methods by exploiting 4 active learning methods for pharmacy students of first year. The 4 teaching methods for each lesson or take home assignment are follows: 1) problem-based learning (clinical case) including a student presentation of the clinical case, 2) schematic drawings of the human organs, one drawing done in 15-20 min during the week following a lecture and a second drawing done with reference to a professional textbook, 3) learning of professional themes in take home assignments, and 4) short test in order to confirm the understanding of technical terms by using paper or computer. These improvements and new methods provide active approaches for pharmacy students (as opposed to passive memorization of words and image study). In combination, they have proven to be useful as a learning method to acquire expert knowledge and to convert from passive learning approach to active learning approach of pharmacy students in the classroom. © 2005 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.