Design of drug-induced diseases elective utilizing active learning

ObjectivesTo describe active learning utilized in a drug-induced diseases (DID) elective and determine inter-rater reliability of the assessment rubric for oral case-based presentations.MethodsThe design of this DID elective focuses on problem-based learning to enhance students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills pertaining to the treatment of inducible diseases and general medicine. Each class incorporates active learning, utilization of drug information resources, and group work. The primary course assessment is student developed oral case-based presentations evaluated with a standard rubric.ResultsThe intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated amongst evaluators to assess the inter-rater reliability of the DID rubric for 21 case-based presentations during the Fall 2013 semester. Composite scores for the case-based presentations demonstrated good inter-rater reliability with an ICC of 0.628.ConclusionsTeaching methods utilizing active learning are described for this DID elective. The rubric for the student developed oral case-based presentations demonstrated good inter-rater reliability amongst evaluators and could be modified for use in other professional courses.