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The primary mission of the Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is to educate students in a Christian environment to become pharmacists and pharmacy-related professionals who will meet existing and future healthcare needs and who will provide leadership to the profession and to organizations that represent pharmacy. Central to our mission as educators are the tools, resources, and methodologies used to engage students in the professional curriculum. To that end, provided here are resources and tools that represent research based, classroom tested, and time-proven pedagogical practice. Identifying Learning Outcomes and Writing Course Objectives The terminology surrounding instructional design can be quite confusing, and is often convoluted, even by professionals in the field. Therefore it is best to understand Learning Outcomes and Course Objectives as abstractions of the exact same concept. Dispensing with unnecessary jargon, we simply ask ourselves these questions: As a result of this particular educational experience, what do we want students to know or do? At what level of proficiency? How will we measure this? The answers to these simple questions serve as the framework for a useful assessment of student learning that will lead to overall improvement in course design and delivery, as well as provide evidence for evaluation purposes related to accreditation. San Diego State University has provided a relatively useful tutorial on understanding and writing objectives. Dr Bresciani from NC State has also provided some excellent examples of measurable outcomes. For a more in-depth discussion of the three learning domains mentioned in the links above, Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor, see Blooms Taxonomy. Learning Styles Hundreds of research studies and thousands of articles, books, and other publications all underscore the assertion that we don’t all receive, process, and internalize information in the exact same way. Without doubt, this makes the already daunting task of the educator even more difficult. Luckily, the preferred learning style of most learners falls into one of a handful of categories. A basic understanding of the characteristics of these learning styles is helpful to both students and professors. It allows educators to provide optimal learning experiences that will connect with a diverse learner population and will allow students to recognize and capitalize on their preference as learners. Dr. Felder of NC State University has developed a self-scoring online questionnaire of preferred learning styles (ILS) based on the four dimensions of the Felder-Silverman model. The model was developed specifically for students in the fields of engineering and science. Creating Effective Assessments A brief overview of the test development process begins with careful consideration of the exact content to measure and a decision on the types of items that will be used to measure it. Next is the item development stage, where actual test items are written. The test is then administered and scored. All too often, the scoring of tests and assigning of letter grades is viewed as the concluding step, the last piece of the puzzle. Although ultimately our job as instructors boils down to assigning grades to students, we do ourselves a disservice if we view assessment and test construction as a linear process. In fact, test development is a cyclical process; the data received from administering the test should be used to inform you about the appropriateness of the content and the effectiveness of the individual items in future exams. Although the students in your classes change semester to semester, assessment is ongoing. A model for thinking about the testing and assessment process is given below in Figure 1. Figure 1. Testing process (from the University of Wisconsin).
 Statistical Item Analysis of multiple choice items is a fairly simple and quick way to identify items that might be candidates for revision, might point to gaps between instructional content and the test, or indicate areas that students should focus on for remediation. ParSCORE software, depending on the version, will automatically calculate item reliability. However, faculty members of the School of Pharmacy are welcome to contact the Office of Assessment and Evaluation to have Item Reliability Analysis conducted on classroom assessments. Item writing guidelines for multiple choices tests are available for download. Additional Resources Adult Learners More Learning and Teaching Resources at UNC Chapel Hill Free Rubric Maker The Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia
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