A pharmacy curriculum which will develop a commitment to lifelong learning.

Workshop Session\ud \ud AIMS: To identify teaching and learning outcomes for a pharmacy curriculum that aims to develop lifelong learners.\ud \ud Outcome One: Identify skills/attitudes/traits of a lifelong learner\ud \ud Outcome Two: Discuss how these could be developed through a pharmacy curriculum\ud \ud Outcome Three: Identify facilitators and barriers to the development of a curriculum which includes these teaching and learning outcomes.\ud \ud The Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Programs in Australia and New Zealand state that the ‘goal of initial pharmacy education will produce graduates who engender a commitment to lifelong learning (1)’. However, to develop a curriculum that would meet this expectation, it would be necessary to know what teaching and learning outcomes would be required in a graduate to demonstrate this quality. By considering a list of skills/attitudes/traits identified in the literature and considering how pharmacists are likely to undertake ongoing learning, we will identify a list of teaching and learning outcomes that will be indicative of a pharmacy graduate who has developed lifelong learning skills.\ud \ud Understanding how a curriculum can achieve learning outcomes may identify which parts of the program will help achieve the graduate attribute of lifelong learning. Assessment for instance, is one part of the curriculum which has been recognised as being influential on what students learn (2, 3). Hughes and Barries, stated that ‘the strongest evidence of achieving graduate attributes is through explicit embedding in assessment (4)’. Boud, also identified assessments which utilise and develop abilities that are required when learning for life. Of these, he identified that group work can increase learning when associated with more complex learning (5). Workshop participants will be encouraged to identify curriculum or assessment practice that they believe may influence the development of the teaching and learning outcomes identified.\ud \ud The final step of this workshop would be to consider how to provide a curriculum which includes these teaching and learning outcomes.\ud \ud Activity 1) 45mins. \ud Participants will consider a list of skills/attitudes/traits of a lifelong learner. A discussion will then explore any differences to those identified in a literature search.\ud \ud Activity 2) 45mins.\ud Using group work, ideas or examples of how these could be implemented into the curriculum will be explored.\ud \ud References\ud \ud 1. Australian Pharmacy Council. Accreditation standards for pharmacy programs in Australia and New Zealand (effective from 1 January 2014) 2012 [cited 2013 April 25]. Available from: https://www.pharmacycouncil.org.au/media/1032/accreditation-standards-pharmacy-programs-aunz-2014.pdf\ud 2. Norton L. Assessing student learning. In: Fry H, Ketteridge S, Marshall M, editors. A handbook for teaching and learning in higher education: enhancing academic practice. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge; 2009. p. 134.\ud \ud 3. Barrie S, Hughes C, Smith C. The national graduate attributes project:integration and assessment of graduate attributes in curriculum 2009 [cited 2013 April 25]. Available from: http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/projects/nationalgap/resources/gappdfs/national%20graduate%20attributes%20project%20final%20report%202009.pdf.\ud \ud 4. Hughes C, Barrie S. Influences on the assessment of graduate attributes in higher education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 2010;35(3):325.\ud \ud 5. Boud D. Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society. Studies in Continuing Education. 2000;22(2):151-67