A multiyear comparison of flipped- vs. lecture-based teaching on student success in a pharmaceutical science class

• Published in: Currents in pharmacy teaching and learning 2020-01, Vol.12 (1), p.84-87
• Main Authors: Mitroka, James G., Harrington, Catherine, DellaVecchia, Matthew J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Failures; Flipped-classroom; Lecture; Ratio
• ISSN: 1877-1297; 1877-1300
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2019.10.014

To gauge the potential effect of mode of content delivery on overall student success in a pharmaceutical sciences course in a doctor of pharmacy program. Principles of Drug Action I (PDAI) is a first-year pharmaceutical science course typically taught by multiple faculty, and each utilizes their own approach to deliver course content. Over a seven year period, the course naturally separated into blocks. Block-1 was taught using a traditional lecture-based approach while Block-2 varied between either a lecture-based or a flipped-classroom format. Student success was evaluated by exam at the end of each block. For the four years in which Block-2 was taught by lecture, the number of exam failures was similar to Block-1. For each of the three years Block-2 was taught via the flipped-classroom format, the number of exam failures was approximately half that of Block-1. While grades for the lecture-based Block-1 trended downward over the seven-year evaluation period, average exam grades overall were similar between Block-1 and Block-2 each year regardless of teaching modality. Retrospective analysis of this novel blocked approach within PDAI provided a means of internally evaluating the potential effect of teaching format on overall student performance. The results described here support previous studies that indicate that the flipped-classroom approach can reduce course failures. These findings also show that flipped-classroom teaching may have a greater impact on improving learning in lower-performing students.