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Using answer-until-correct examinations to provide immediate feedback to students in a pharmacokinetics course
Adam M Persky1, Gary M Pollack
1School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7360, USA. apersky@unc.edu
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
|November 13, 2008
Summary
The answer-until-correct examination format effectively assessed pharmacy students' learning outcomes in pharmacokinetics. This immediate feedback method was preferred by students for promoting deep learning and critical thinking.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology and Pharmacy Education
Background:
- Traditional examination formats may not fully capture student mastery of complex subjects like pharmacokinetics.
- Assessing learning outcomes requires innovative pedagogical approaches in pharmacy education.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement and evaluate an answer-until-correct examination format in a pharmacokinetics course.
- To compare the effectiveness of this format against traditional mixed-format examinations in assessing pharmacy students' mastery of learning outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Three examinations using the answer-until-correct format were administered to students in a core pharmacokinetics course.
- Student scores were compared to a control group from the previous academic year.
- Points were awarded based on the number of attempts needed to achieve a correct answer.
Main Results:
- Examination scores in the new format were equivalent to those of the previous year's control group.
- Students favored the answer-until-correct format due to multiple attempts and immediate feedback.
- A subset of students reported increased anxiety associated with the new examination approach.
Conclusions:
- The answer-until-correct format effectively assesses pharmacokinetics learning outcomes.
- Immediate feedback provided by this format supports deep learning and critical thinking development.
- Pharmacy students generally preferred the immediate feedback examination format over traditional methods.
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