All online / All the time

The fifth year of Pharmacy is an intern year, which involves students studying their essential coursework entirely online, while also commencing full time work. This can be an adjustment for many of them. Hence, the decision was made to prepare them for the requirements and expectation of studying entirely, and independently online, prior to their pivotal fifth year. PHR5052, is a third year subject, and is run remotely. Its design allows students to develop essential time, and self management skills in advance of when they’ll need to have those skills already well developed, and does so at a less critical time in their degree. This unit, as well as covering key concepts, scaffolds the necessary skill of independent learning so as to set students up for success in their fifth and final year.

Series of steps

	Once the decision was made to design this unit for the online environment, education designers and content experts were asked to first decide what students need to know prior to conducting research in pharmacy.
	As a result of that collaboration, a list was created, which was then expanded into six topics.
	The unit development team then worked on expanding the content into learning material suitable for the online learning environment.
	The course material was divided into easily digestible chunks, with relevant readings, short videos, engaging H5P activities, and concept check quizzes, for example, being designed to take advantage of the interactivity that is possible on moodle. The goal behind the design was to be consistent with the content, so students know what they need to do.
	The structured weekly learning makes it easier for students to understand how to study independently and cover the necessary topics. At the end of each week there is a synchronous Q&A session with the unit coordinator, so any questions can be answered, problems can be solved, further detail can be offered and discussions can be had as the students build towards writing a research proposal.

With students all having unique learning preferences, some may not appreciate the asynchronous learning environment at the time, however, once they get to their fifth year, which is the intern year, students have said they are able to cope with the independent, and more difficult fifth year as a result of completing PHR5052. The students are better prepared for online learning, and also the skills it requires, such as time and self management.

• First find the people you’ll need: the content experts and the educational designers. The ed designers in particular need experience with online learning.
• Next pay attention to scaffolding the learning and taking on board the advice from the expert team you have assembled.
• Third, take into consideration your student cohort and consider how much you can rely on the less than perfectly engaged students to learn without real time guidance and support.
• Finally, be prepared to learn along the way and make changes as needed.

• Start with a very simple design and further develop it as the need and awareness arose. PHR5052 was ambitious and some elements had to be wound back.
• It was found that in aiming ‘too high’ with adding all the ‘bells and whistles’ some of the less than perfectly engaged students struggled. Things had to be pared back as those students sent a lot of emails asking for help.
• Be mindful that what can hold you back is the less engaged, students, so try to include their limitations in the design. If something can be done simpler, or in the ‘usual’ way, without compromising learning, then it’s okay to compromise.
• Focus on what is the best design, outcome and activity for the class and its unique learners as a whole, not just one select group.
• Accept that some design or activity decisions will not work for all students.
• Your teaching style needs to also take into account the varied learning preferences and needs of the students.