Less Flash, More Impact: Designing Pharmacy Courses that Boost Learning
In the world of pharmacy education, we’ve come to equate engaging teaching with high production value—elaborate simulations, multimedia tools, gamified assessments. And while these strategies can enhance learning, they can also unintentionally burden faculty with extra work that doesn’t always translate to better outcomes.
Early-career faculty, in particular, may feel pressured to deliver “razzle dazzle” instruction that dazzles in presentation—but drifts from core learning objectives. The result? Burnout for the instructor and a disjointed experience for students.
What if we refocused on what matters most: helping students connect content to application through intentional, outcomes-aligned design?
Drawing from evidence-based education and leadership resources like Make It Stick (Brown, Roediger & McDaniel), The Spark of Learning (Cavanagh), and The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey (Blanchard), here are practical strategies for creating high-yield, lower-effort teaching that puts learning—not labor—at the center.
1. Start with the End: Align Everything to Learning Objectives
Key Idea: If the activity doesn’t support the objective, it’s extra noise.
Faculty often design activities first and fit learning objectives around them—but backward design is more effective and sustainable. According to Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe), learning outcomes should shape content, not the other way around. A learning activity should drill deeper into the main issues important to the learning outcome.
Try This:
Begin with 3–5 clear, actionable learning objectives per session.
For every teaching activity, ask: What specific outcome does this help achieve?
Example:
Instead of building a complex role-play activity “just to increase engagement,” a faculty member develops a simpler case study discussion that directly targets clinical decision-making skills outlined in the objectives.
2. Use Low-Prep, High-Gain Learning Strategies
Key Idea: More faculty effort doesn’t always equal more student learning.
Research in Make It Stick shows that active recall, spaced repetition, and interweaving produce deeper, longer-lasting learning than passive review or flashy tools. And the best part? These strategies require minimal prep.
Try This:
Replace long lectures with brief content bursts followed by retrieval questions.
Use “think-pair-share” or quick reflection prompts to deepen engagement.
Example:
A faculty member embeds three 2-minute retrieval breaks into a 50-minute class using index cards or polls. No slides to redesign—just more retention.
3. Design with Energy in Mind—Both Theirs and Yours
Key Idea: Teaching is a cognitive and emotional investment. Don’t overspend.
Drawing from Essentialism by Greg McKeown, effective educators are selective about where they invest their energy. Teaching can become unsustainable when we say yes to every idea or try to cover every detail.
Try This:
Build recurring templates for weekly sessions or lab activities.
Choose one or two areas for innovation each semester—leave the rest steady.
Example:
Instead of revamping all lectures, a professor selects one module to redesign with a new clinical integration strategy, preserving time and energy for feedback and mentoring.
4. Prioritize Connection Over Performance
Key Idea: Students remember how you made them think—not just how you made them feel.
The Spark of Learning reminds us that emotional connection supports cognitive engagement. That doesn’t mean faculty have to entertain—it means creating psychological safety, relevance, and purpose.
Try This:
Begin class with a one-minute prompt: “Why does this matter for your future patients?”
Share real-world anecdotes that humanize the material without requiring polished slides.
Example:
A pharmacy faculty member starts each session by connecting the day’s topic to a patient story—creating immediate relevance and emotional buy-in without extra tech or handouts.
Final Thoughts:
Instructional design doesn’t have to be dazzling to be powerful. The best learning happens when activities are clearly aligned, cognitively demanding, and intentionally paced—both for students and for you.
For early-career faculty, the goal isn’t to outshine your peers with production value. It’s to illuminate your students’ path to competence with clarity, consistency, and care.
Let’s stop chasing polish and start designing for purpose.
Next Steps for Less Flash and More Impact:
Looking to streamline your course design while boosting student learning outcomes? We offer faculty coaching and workshop support to help you teach smarter—not harder. Together, we can help integrate work-life balance.
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