Mixing Up Learning: How Videos and Teamwork Can Boost Pharmacy Students' Grades

The Jigsaw Approach with Educational Videos

Pharmacy students might learn better when they work together and use videos instead of just sitting through lectures. A new study looked at how a teamwork method called the jigsaw approach, mixed with educational YouTube clips, affected students' grades, happiness, and willingness to suggest this method to others.

How the Jigsaw Method Works

The jigsaw method is like a puzzle. Each student gets a piece of information to learn. Then, they teach it to their team. This way, everyone learns from each other. The study changed this method a bit by adding short, educational YouTube videos. The idea was to see if this mix could make learning more fun and effective.

The Results

The results showed that students who used this method:

• Did better on tests
• Enjoyed learning more
• Were likely to recommend this method to others

This suggests that mixing teamwork with videos can make learning more engaging and effective.

Why It Works

• Teamwork makes learning interactive: Students discuss, ask questions, and teach each other, helping them understand and remember information better.
• Videos make learning interesting: Videos can explain complex ideas simply and make the learning process more dynamic.

Limitations of the Study

• The study focused on pharmacy students, so results might vary for other subjects or age groups.
• The study didn't compare this method to other active learning strategies, so it's not clear if it's better than others, just that it's better than traditional lectures.

Conclusion

Mixing teamwork with videos can be a good way to improve learning. However, more research is needed to see if this works for everyone and every subject.