Concept-based pharmacology education workshop – 18-20 July, 2022

---

Event information

When: 18-20 July, 2022
Where: Monash University Prato Centre, Palazzo Vaj, Via Pugliesi, 26 59100 Prato, Italia
(p: +39 0574 43691 e: prato@ita.monash.edu)
How: Hybrid mode – online workshops to complement Prato in-person events (50 participants online and in-venue have registered)

Background and Aims

The Core Concepts of Pharmacology Education project has made significant progress over the past three years. A pilot study in Australia and New Zealand identified, defined and unpacked 20 core concepts using a criterion-based approach for the first time in any discipline. In 2021, an ambitious project was launched to produce a global consensus list of core concepts, and to develop approaches to teaching and assessing these concepts within transformative concept-based curricula.

Purpose of the workshop – Concept-based pharmacology education: From a list of concepts to teaching, learning and assessment resources

We are well on the way to producing an international consensus list of core concepts of
pharmacology education – this will be completed well before the workshop. Expert Group members have strongly endorsed our broader project plans. We need to go much further than naming the concepts to have the impact we want to achieve. Our intended outcomes include:

1. Definitions of each core concept
2. Extraction of sub-concepts and important considerations for each core concept
3. Concept maps that explicitly show relationships between concepts within concept
   families
4. Development of teaching, learning and assessment resources for educators
   • Including starting the process of producing a concept inventory, by identifying
     misconceptions that students hold about the concept

Some of these outcomes will require deep intricate discussions over many hours, which happen most effectively in person (in a single time zone!). Others can be achieved through continued use of online collaboration.

Hence, we are proposing a Core Concepts of Pharmacology Education inaugural meeting in hybrid format. The project is now endorsed by the IUPHAR education section (one of only two such endorsed projects) and the meeting will be held under the IUPHAR Ed banner.

Participants’ names will be displayed on the project website and a certificate of participation will be provided.

Session focuses /outcomes

Team-based approach – we will divide into Prato attendee teams and online teams (and
sub-teams, working in groups of ~5) that will complete discrete tasks, with each team reviewing the work of another team.

• Outcome one: For each core concept, a one sentence definition will be produced
  • Online sub-groups develop drafts prior to the workshop and identify “sticky questions” / points of contention
  • Prato attendees deal with sticky questions that emerged during drafting
  • Wordsmithing post-workshop
    
• Outcome two: For each core concept, a list of sub-concepts and important considerations will be produced for each core concept within a family of concepts (e.g. PK family)
  • Online sub-groups develop drafts prior to the workshop and identify “sticky questions” / points of contention
  • Prato attendees deal with sticky questions that emerged during drafting
  • Wordsmithing post-workshop

Online sub-groups tackling outcomes one and two will have access to each others’ work as it progresses and will review each other’s work during the workshop zoom meetings.

• Outcome three: Concept maps that explicitly show relationships between concepts within concept families
  • Prato attendees develop and share concept maps prior to attendance
  • Prato attendees work together on consensus concept map
    
• Outcome four
  • Developing approaches to assessing each concept
  • Prato attendees or online groups identifies core concepts that are worthy of / lend themselves to being tested using a concept inventory
    1. primary, you need to learn them early to understand other key concepts, and
    2. they are particularly subject to misconceptions.
  • Discussing common misconceptions re: a few central core concepts as a step toward CI building
  • Identify scenarios that could provide the stem of an MCQ