Formative assessment as a learning aid for pharmacy calculations— a theory based design

Authors

  • Niamh Kelly The Clinical Pharmacy Unit, Post Graduate Medical Centre, G22 Audrey Emerton Building, The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Eastern Road, Brighton BN2 5BE, and School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Cockcroft Building, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Brighton, UK
  • Stewart E. Glaspole The Clinical Pharmacy Unit, Post Graduate Medical Centre, G22 Audrey Emerton Building, The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Eastern Road, Brighton BN2 5BE, and School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Cockcroft Building, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Brighton, UK

Keywords:

Formative assessment, Landa, numeracy, pharmacy, Vygotsky

Abstract

Deficiencies in basic numerical skills exist amongst the general population and within healthcare professions. This paper shows how an application of education theory can be used to design an assessment tool to diagnose these problems in pre- registration pharmacists. The main component of this research is based on formative assessment, which acts both as an assessment method and learning aid. Theories such as Landa’s Algo-Heuristic Theory and Vygotsky’s Concept of Learning Development are incorporated directly into the tool’s development. The designed assessment tool comprises three papers, developed around a sample Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) exam paper. These papers are to be used at various stages throughout the pre-registration training year to aid progression to mastery. Preliminary validation of this research was carried out using qualitative analysis of an academic/practitioner pharmacist consensus group. The analysis showed that formative assessment is perceived to be difficult to implement and understand. It also showed this tool to be a novel method of addressing this important issue, worthy of further research.

References

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Published

18-08-2018

How to Cite

Kelly, N., & Glaspole, S. E. (2018). Formative assessment as a learning aid for pharmacy calculations— a theory based design. Pharmacy Education, 6(1). Retrieved from https://pharmacyeducation.fip.org/pharmacyeducation/article/view/107

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2006)

Section

Research Article

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