Pharmacy student perceptions of educational media tools

Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713647357 Copyright Informa Healthcare [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]Peer reviewe

The role of handouts in the M.Pharm degree pathway - differentiating between the inquisitive and the acquisitive

Handouts are an established and recognised way for teaching staff to facilitate learning within higher education, by supplementing traditional didactic Learning and Teaching (L&T) methods. Traditionally, teaching in UK Schools of Pharmacy has often relied upon the use of handouts as part of the L&T strategy. However, their use is inconsistent, and dependent upon the teaching style of the educator. To our knowledge, a systematic analysis of their impact on the student learning experience has not been conducted with respect to their use in the Master of Pharmacy (M.Pharm) degree programme. In this article, we survey the attitudes of undergraduate M.Pharm students with respect to the use of handouts and the effect on their learning at two UK schools of pharmacy and compare the results with an Australian (University of Queensland) school of veterinary science. We report that most students' stated preference is for comprehensive learning support in the form of handouts. This is at slight variance with one of our previous works which, although reported a similar result, also reported that there is in some cases an inversely proportional relationship between the number of handouts given to students and the value they place upon them, as well as that students place greater value on material that they have downloaded themselves by means of an intranet or Managed Learning Environment. Two hundred and eighty five School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton students (Levels 1-4) and 19 staff responded to questionnaire and 150 School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Portsmouth students responded. Reporting from the view that handouts can be a coherent and effective educational strategy to promote lifelong learning, we compare attitudes of the staff and students of the schools and whether or not these influence the manner in which students and staff approach their subjects. We report significant differences in the way five major questions were answered between each school. Comparisons of the responses from the different schools indicated that students from different universities and from both countries have different beliefs regarding handout usage. Eighty-three percent of Brighton students requested comprehensive handouts as an integral component of the lectures, compared to 56% of Queensland students, and 53% of Portsmouth students. Whilst staff favour the limited use of handouts as supplements to lecture materials and tended to agree on most responses, with only 32% of Brighton staff and 34% of Queensland staff agreeing that students should receive comprehensive handouts. More staff than students also agreed that handouts discourage further reading in a subject. Other factors that were significantly related to student responses were gender, year of study, choice of pre-registration field, the presence or absence of a part-time job and whether or not the student was studying in their native country

Enhancing quality in the M.Pharm degree programme: Optimisation of the personal tutor system

Personal tutoring (PT) systems operating in Higher education (HE) generally aim to offer support, information and advice to students concerning many areas in their university life, both the pedagogical and the personal. This article considers the methodologies and perceptions of a PT system for 4-year Master of Pharmacy (M.Pharm) undergraduate students within the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Brighton. The 2000/2001 Level 1 and Level 2 M.Pharm cohorts were surveyed with respect to their perceptions of the personal tutor system. These perceptions are reported in this work. The majority of students made zero or one visits to their assigned personal tutor each academic year. Overall positive student perceptions concerning the effectiveness of the PT system is reported, with most students reporting that they found their allocated personal tutor helpful. Most students stated that they felt able to request a change of personal tutor under any circumstances without fear of any negative consequence, a key attribute of the system. Students described the PT system as a means of listening to personal problems, to review status of academic progress and to act as an initial point of contact between the students and the University. Yet the students did not acknowledge some of its key functions. The PT was not described as a means to discuss learning and assessment strategies, deploy information on course and exam regulations and help in choosing modules (as well as assistance in gaining access to support services). The results of this study provide us with a framework by which the current system may be improved. Results suggest that its focus now must be on enhancing staff dedication to the provision of a quality service, training support to staff in the skills of PT, instituting a minimum number of PT sessions-per-academic year and broadening student knowledge of the multi-dimensional role of the personal tutor. It is also concluded that the one-size-fits-all model does not fit all and that a flexible model for tutoring is more likely to satisfy the requirements of the student body as a whole