The Relationship between Reflective Practice, Learning Styles and Academic Performance in Pharmacy Education

Abstract

Introduction: Reflective thinking is conceptualised as a higher order thinking process that challenges one’s own beliefs and assumptions in order to come to new insights and understandings, thus making better informed decisions (Boud et al., 1985; Dewey, 1910; Dewey, 1933; Kolb, 1984; Mezirow, 1991; Schon, 1995; Tsingoset al., 2014). Developing reflective skills in pharmacy education is crucial, yet the current literature in this area is scant (Tsingos et al., 2014). AimsThis research aimed to (i) investigate reflective practices to enhance pharmacy education and, (ii) develop, test and evaluate a model which could be utilised to assess reflective practices in pharmacy education. MethodsPhase 1 involved conducting three literature reviews followed by Phase 2 with the undertaking of five research projects utilising both quantitative and qualitative measures. ResultsThe eight research projects within this Thesis demonstrated that reflective practice skills can be effectively taught through prompts and instruction; may assist in the deeper learning process; promote critical thinking skills to enhance future practice; have the potential to enhance students’ academic performance and can be reliably assessed by raters from different educational disciplines. ConclusionAmodel utilising a suite of reflective activities and a novel assessment strategy have been proposed, and have been integrated into an undergraduate Pharmacy curriculum.