Evaluation of student perceptions of concept mapping activity in a didactic pharmaceutics course

Objective: To incorporate a concept mapping assignment as an active learning strategy in a pharmaceutics course and evaluate student perceptions about this new activity. Design: A total of 67 students were given an individual and group concept mapping assignments to analyze the interrelationships of physicochemical properties, formulation factors, and excipient requirements of a specific dosage form. A student satisfaction survey was administered to collect student perceptions about the activity anonymously. Assessment: All students and student groups successfully completed concept maps based on the rubric provided by the faculty. A total of 46 students (69%) completed the satisfaction survey. Overall, students reported that the use of concept mapping improved their understanding of the course material. Conclusions: The concept map assignment allowed students to visualize how different properties of individual dosage forms are interrelated. It is a useful tool for integrating instructional concepts in a pharmaceutics course and beyond. Concept maps enhance learning experiences and lead to a better understanding of the fundamental concepts. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.