Impact of Collaborative Testing on Academic Performance in Pharmacy Education

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Traditional academic assessments may not fully capture student learning or retention.
• Innovative pedagogical approaches are needed to enhance student outcomes in health professions education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the academic impact of a 2-stage collaborative testing (CT) method on pharmacy students.
• To assess pharmacy student perceptions regarding the 2-stage CT approach.

Main Methods:

• A 2-stage CT format was piloted in a patient assessment course sequence for Doctor of Pharmacy students.
• Students were randomly assigned to groups and teams, alternating between traditional and 2-stage CT examination formats.
• Post-tests and anonymous surveys were used to measure academic performance and student perceptions, respectively.

Main Results:

• Students demonstrated improved performance on post-test items associated with 2-stage CT, indicating better retention and learning from errors.
• A significant majority (approximately 90%) of students preferred 2-stage CT over traditional testing.
• Students reported enhanced teamwork and critical thinking skills attributed to the 2-stage CT method.

Conclusions:

• Implementing 2-stage CT in pharmacy education positively influenced learning and knowledge retention.
• Pharmacy students perceived 2-stage CT favorably, reporting benefits in learning, retention, teamwork, and critical thinking.