(186) Redesign of a Pharmacy Self-Care Elective Using a Specifications Grading Approach

Objective : To describe the redesign, implementation, and outcomes of a pharmacy self-care elective course incorporating specifications grading.

Methods: A 6-week self-care elective for second- and third-professional year students was re-designed using a specifications grading approach. Course assignments were restructured into 3 grading bundles (A, B, or C) with each assignment graded complete/incomplete based on a clear set of specifications provided to students in advance. To allow more flexibility in assignment submissions, a token system was established. Course outcomes were analyzed using descriptive statistics and instructor feedback contributed to qualitative results.

Results: Twenty-two students were enrolled in the course and completed all course assignments. Course grades (17 As, 4 Bs, and 1 C) were comparable to previous course offerings which used a traditional grading approach. Twenty-one students (95.4%) earned at least 1 token in the course. Tokens were earned by early assignment submission (90.2% of all tokens earned), submitting a class session 3-2-1 (5.8%), or submitting a muddiest point (3.9%). Eighteen students (81.8%) used at least 1 token during the course. Tokens were primarily used to resubmit an assignment after receiving an incomplete (81.6%). Students also used tokens for late assignment submissions (13.2%) or to retake the final exam (5.3%). Except for one submission which required two resubmissions, all assignments met specifications after the first resubmission. A streamlined grading approach allowed the instructor to provide more feedback to students instead of focusing on allocating points. The biggest challenge was keeping track of tokens and assignment resubmissions.

Conclusions: A self-care elective was successfully reformatted to incorporate specifications grading as an alternative grading approach with the goal for students to focus more on their learning instead of grades.