Assessment of the effectiveness and perception of different teaching techniques used in pharmacology among students

Pharmacology is one of the most dynamic and evolving branches, not only in the concepts but also in teaching methodologies. Many attempts have been made by various colleges all over the world to make the teaching of pharmacology more interesting and relevant.

The literature from two databases (Google Scholar and PubMed) published between 2005 and 2020 were searched using terms related to "Teaching Techniques" AND "Pharmacology." The articles with unavailable full-text those published in conference proceedings, duplicate studies, and articles published in languages apart from English were excluded. Teaching techniques were compared using success and popularity ratios, which were calculated on the basis of student's test score and their feedback with an average minimum score of 50%, which was considered the benchmark.

Out of the 1,093 articles reviewed, only 95 studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies were conducted among medical (64.21%) and pharmacy (28.42%) students. Most common teaching techniques belonged to computer and case-based (21.05% each) types followed by multiple techniques (11.58%) types. Flipped, case-based, multiple methods, modules, and other innovative methods have been well received by students with a popularity ratio ranging between 100 and 81, and improvement in students' test scores further demonstrated their utility with a success ratio between 100 and 88. The effectiveness and popularity of computer-based techniques and student-centered techniques were found to be moderate (73 and 71). Although popular, team-based techniques and simulations seemed to be less effective in improving test scores (50 and 33, respectively).

There is a need for periodic up-gradation in techniques utilized for teaching pharmacology. Every teaching technique has its strengths and weaknesses. They need to be utilized as per the student's requirement.