Entwicklung und Evaluation mediendidaktischer Konzepte zur Computer-basierten Lernerfolgskontrolle im Fach Molekulare Pharmazie

Within the last 10 years the pharmacy education in Switzerland was
extensively reorganized. Due to the enormous increase in biomedical and
pharmaceutical knowledge, handling information and communication
technologies as well as the compilation of new learning strategies became
an integral constituent of the study. The integration of new media into the
curriculum of molecular pharmacy as well as the development of a virtual
learning environment was the aim of the award-winning project pharma2
[pharmasquare]. Financed by the Swiss Virtual Campus and matching
funds of the University of Basel a blended learning concept was developed.
Thus, it was guaranteed that the strengths of the different educational
methods in the real and virtual space could be used, in order to optimally
promote learning in molecular pharmacy education.
In order to activate individual learning processes, verify learning outcomes
and also to be able to assign credit points, the development of computerbased
assessments was a substantial constituent of the project. Therefore
two concepts were developed within this work by use of innovative
information- and communication technologies and consideration of
didactical realizations: the virtual test and training system PharmAskYou,
which was developed particularly for theoretical learning contents, and the
video-based, interactive learning system ViLab designed for practical
courses.
With didactical development, response-contingent feedback and appealing
design PharmAskYou make it also possible to test questions on higher
cognitive levels within the area of application, analysis, synthesis and also
evaluation of pharmaceutical problems adapted to specific needs of
molecular pharmacy education. With ViLab the practical courses in the
laboratory can be prepared optimally, without stressing material or
personnel resources. Within each step the students can make decisions
which influence their result. As in the real laboratory, an assistant gives an
individual feedback to the students for their decisions. Thus the students
become acquainted with not only the method, but also the consequences
of incorrect operating.
The integration of the concepts PharmAskYou and ViLab into the
curriculum of molecular pharmacy was accompanied by different
evaluation methods. The results show that the students’ acceptance was
very high. Continuous assessments and interactive exercises, integration of
animations, video-clips and photos as well as appealing layout motivate
the students for studying at the computer. Thus on the one hand a better
cross-linking between the face-to-face and virtual events could be
achieved; on the other hand, continuous feedback about learning success
and failure and at the same time appropriate cognitive level according to
the learning objects of molecular pharmacy education could be
maintained. Improvement potentials are situated particularly in the
integration of the ViLab into the practical course in the laboratory. It
became obvious that the positive effects of new media do not occur by the
bare application, but a successful integration into the course, in this case
the practical course, is inevitable.