Comparisons of analogical learning and team discussion as interactive in-class activities in flipped classroom of a pharmacy compounding course

Flipped classroom in pharmacy education has been widely explored with a major focus on its effectiveness but little emphasis is given to assess the different in-class activities. Therefore, this work compares two in-class activities in an overall flipped classroom: analogical learning and team-based learning (TBL) for a pharmacy course. The students underwent flipped classrooms with recorded lectures for different topics and followed by different assigned in-class activities. The final exam performance and a survey gauging their opinions on the experience were obtained and analysed. Analysis of covariance results showed no difference in the exam grade between the activities but normalised-gain score demonstrated moderately to highly effective for both activities. Despite this, the students rated lower for TBL experience due to the poor participation. Nevertheless, the current comparisons exhibited the benefits of different interactive in-class activities and the need for a careful design based on the students' interest and engagement levels.