Development and Effectiveness Evaluation of A Computer Assisted Instruction Lesson on Pharmacokinetics of Aminoglycosides

Abstract

Objective: This quasi-experimental study aimed to develop and evaluatethe effectiveness of a computer assisted instruction (CAI) lesson onpharmacokinetics of aminoglycosides among pharmacy students. Method:Subjects were 4th year Mahasarakham University pharmacy students, 2ndsemester, academic year of 2009, who had learned the topic in a classlecture, and voluntarily enrolled in the study. The CAI lesson wasdeveloped using Adobe Flash CS3® running on Windows XP® ProfessionalEdition. The lesson was divided into 3 main parts, a profile ofaminoglycosides, exercise and post test. Students were asked to completethe pre-test (12 questions) in 30 min, learn the CAI lesson in 1 hr, andcomplete the post-test, similar to pre-test, in another 30 min. Oncecomplete, students rate their satisfactions on the CAI learning process.Difference in pre- and post-test knowledge test scores was tested usingpaired t-test or Wilcoxon signed ranks test, as appropriate. Results: Sixtytwostudents enrolled in the study. After learning, their knowledge scorewas increased significantly from 3.85 to 6.32, P-value < 0.001). Studentswere highly satisfied with its novelty and attention capturing; while thelesson sequence and pace and the use of appropriate sound to stimulatelearning were the two aspects with less satisfaction. Conclusion: A CAIlesson on pharmacokinetics of aminoglycosides was effective in improvingthe topic knowledge. It was novel and attention capturing way to learn. Itcould be used as an option for learning topics in pharmacokinetics with astudent-centered learning style.Keywords: computer assisted instruction, pharmacokinetics, aminoglycosides,pharmacy students