POSTER PRESENTATIONS - AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM LECTURE

Traditional teaching strategies, though useful for the dissemination o f information, especially to a large number of students, can promote p assive learning and can become mundane. Therefore, innovative educatio nal methods can become important tools for empowering students to lear n and retain presented material. This paper describes an alternative a pproach to the traditional classroom lecture which was implemented wit h first-year, postbaccalaureate doctor of pharmacy candidates. This no ntraditional approach consisted of the development and presentation of a professional poster. Students were divided into teams of two and as signed topics related to specific anemias or blood disorders, Each tea m was given a one and one-half hour lime period to present their proje ct during which their classmates and faculty members asked questions. Three posters were presented simultaneously during one classroom lectu re period. Overall, student acceptance of the poster project was posit ive. From the faculty's perspective, the poster presentation is a fun and efficient way to promote learning and critical thinking skills in pharmacy students. It presents students with the opportunity to be cre ative and to develop a useful poster presentation skills. The poster p resentation also promotes professional communication and moves student s out of passive learning into active learning roles, Poster viewers h ave the opportunity to seek immediate clarification of presented mater ial in a non-threatening, relaxed atmosphere. As well, immediate feedb ack to the presenter can provide invaluable constructive criticism. Du e to the positive response to this project, this interactive teaching method will be used again next year for the doctorate candidates.