(127) Creating a Culture of Learner Engagement and Participation to Increase Class Attendance

Objective : There is a known negative correlation between learner absenteeism and their performance in pharmacy school. Lack of learner engagement and absenteeism accelerated during the pandemic which lead to learning disruptions and challenges when returning to in-class instruction. This growing problem was identified as contributing to poor learner performance. In 2022, faculty were charged with creating a culture of learner engagement and participation to drive class attendance. The objective of this project is to describe methods utilized to increase learner engagement and participation in an accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program with a distant campus.

Methods: Introduction to Patient Care I is a didactic course required in the first semester of an accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program, as such, this course has an opportunity to lay a foundation for a culture of engagement throughout the learners’ academic tenure. Consistent participation was expected and a component of the course grade. Participation was assessed using a variety of tools including quizzes on the course learning management system, audience response software, written reflections and in-class worksheets. A comparison of categorical data from 2022 and 2021 was conducted using a Fisher’s Exact Test and continuous data was compared using an unpaired t-test.

Results: Traditionally learner engagement dwindled as the semester progressed resulting in missed assignments and poor course performance. With this shift to a culture of engagement there was a 3.3% increase in completion of weekly assignments in 2022 as compared to 2021 (98.5% vs 95.2%; p< 0.0001). Additionally, the overall class average increased 2.42% from 85.33% to 87.75% (95% CI, 0.80 to 4.03; p=0.004).

Conclusions: A culture of engagement and participation increased class attendance, decreased missed assignments, and increased overall course grades.