Evaluation of the Inverted Classroom Approach in a Case-Study Course on Antithrombotic Drug Use in a PharmD Curriculum: French Monocentric Randomized Study.

Background: Appropriate antithrombotic drug use is crucial knowledge for pharmacy students.

Objective: We sought to compare the inverted classroom (IC) approach to a traditional question-and-answer educational approach with the aim of enhancing pharmacy students' engagement with a case-study course on antithrombotic drug use.

Methods: Third-year PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) students from Paris Cité University were randomly assigned to control (n=171) and IC (n=175) groups. The latter were instructed to read and prepare the preprovided course material 1 week before the in-class session to assume the instructor role on the target day, whereas students of the control group attended a traditional case-study course carried out by the same instructor. All students completed pre- and posttest multiple-choice questions surveys assessing their knowledge levels as well as stress, empathy, and satisfaction questionnaires.

Results: A significantly higher participation rate was observed in the control group (93/171, 54%) compared to the IC group (65/175, 37%; P=.002). Women (110/213, 52%) participated more than men (48/133, 36%; P=.002) whatever the group was. Students' knowledge scores from both groups had similar results with no difference neither in the prescore (1.17, SD 0.66 and 1.24, SD 0.72 of 5, respectively) nor in the short-term knowledge retention (2.45, SD 0.61 and 2.35, SD 0.73, respectively). The IC approach did not increase student stress or enhance their empathy for the instructor. It increased the preclass workload (P=.02) and was not well received among students.

Conclusions: This study showed that the traditional educational approach remains an efficient method for case-study courses in the early stages (ie, third-year) of the 6-year PharmD curriculum, yet dynamic methods improving the active role of students in the learning process are still needed.