Identifying and Solving Common Problems of Classroom Teaching

Richard A. Jackson and Hewitt W. Matthews

Southern School of Pharmacy, Mercer University, 3001 Mercer University Drive, Atlanta GA 30341-4155
As part of the continuing faculty development effort at Mercer, a significant portion of the annual faculty retreat
was devoted to common problems encountered by faculty in the undergraduate classroom. Prior to the retreat
faculty were asked to submit critical incidents which had proven to be problematic for them in the classroom.
Thirteen situations were obtained from this solicitation. Faculty and students rated the seriousness of each
classroom problem. Six problems were perceived to be significantly different. The two most serious problems
as perceived by faculty relate to the lack of student time to prepare for class activities and examinations.
Problems as perceived more serious by students included not enough time in class to cover material and
perceived lack of action on student evaluations of faculty. Case studies were then developed for each
problem. A two hour discussion was held at the faculty retreat and several potential solutions were proposed
for each problem. Later, the solutions were prioritized by faculty as to their relative effectiveness. Through
the student government, students evaluated the effectiveness of the solutions. These student perceptions of
effectiveness were then compared to faculty perceptions. Many differences were noted between student and
faculty perceptions of how best to solve the classroom problems. Final recommendations were formulated
and distributed to faculty and students. Faculty rated the exercise as very beneficial, and younger faculty, in
particular, benefited greatly from the experience. Students gained a better appreciation and understanding
of and sensitivity to faculty problems. The process, as well as case studies and solutions are transferable to
other schools for use in faculty development.

INTRODUCTION

Most pharmacy faculty receive little or no formal training or

education in didactic teaching. Basic science faculty may
have spent many years in graduate school, but the emphasis
there was on research and their own course work. Some may
have obtained limited experience in teaching, but that was
usually limited to laboratories with little didactic involvement. Virtually no graduate student received formal instruction in the art of teaching or interacting with students in
the academic environment. The same may be said of pharmacy practice faculty. Residencies and fellowships offer
little or no opportunity for training in didactic education.
In the initial years of employment, many pharmacy
faculty experience a reality shock when they realize that
they are not well prepared for the responsibility they must
assume in the classroom. Even though for many schools of
pharmacy, teaching is the component of the academy triad of
teaching, research and scholarly activity given the greatest emphasis, most pharmacy faculty must learn to become
effective classroom teachers through on the job training.
Through mentoring, many younger faculty are able to benefit
from the experience of older faculty who, like the younger
faculty, learned how to solve classroom problems through
years of trial and error and on the job training.
In reality, being an effective teacher is a difficult task
which requires considerable effort. It not only requires a
thorough knowledge of the subject matter of the course, but
an ability to effectively communicate that knowledge to
students who at times may be less than receptive. As pointed
out by Pregent(1):
Contrary to common belief, teaching is a complex
task that requires sometimes diverse qualities of the
professor. A professor must have the talents and
competencies of both a knowledge engineer -when
preparing activities for a course - and an artist -

when working with students in class.

One of the reasons many choose to teach at the pharmacy school level is that they feel they will not have to deal
with the kinds of classroom problems that beset teachers at
the primary and secondary levels. Unfortunately, problems
in the classroom due to disruptive student actions are a fact
of life at the college level(2). Conflicts often arise between
students and faculty. As one observer has noted, the problem is not always the student(3).
It is human nature for us to perceive the problem
but before focusing on changing the students moments to look at what you are doing that might be
related to the students people, and in many cases
the difficulties are not one-sided.
It is not that faculty cannot be at fault, or wrong. As the same
observer has noted(4):
Instructors can occasionally be wrong. If they are
wrong too often, they should not be teaching. If
they are never wrong, they belong in heaven, not a
college classroom.
Being an effective teacher is important to many faculty
in terms of career satisfaction. For many faculty, being an
effective teacher can lessen burnout and significantly contribute to the productivity of the faculty member. McKeachie
points out(5):
There is never enough time to do everything one
would like to do in either teaching or research, but
most faculty members find that each provides a
useful break from the other. A combination is often
more satisfying than single-minded, undeviating
focus on either. Whatever your choice, it is likely
that teaching will be a part of your role. Teaching
skillfully may be less time-consuming than teaching
badly. Teaching well is more fun than teaching
poorly. Thus, some investment of time and atten-

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

287

Table I. Summary of activities in faculty development

exercise
1. Problems associated with classroom teaching submitted by
faculty
2. Case studies (scenarios) for each problem developed
3. Faculty and students rate seriousness of problems
4. Most serious problems for faculty and students identified
5. Differences in faculty and student opinions determined
6. Problems discussed in two-hour faculty retreat
7. Faculty develop several possible solutions for each problem
8. Faculty and students rate solutions as to effectiveness
9. Faculty and student opinions on effectiveness of solutions
compared

tion to developing skill in teaching is likely to have

substantial pay-off in self-satisfaction and effectiveness in your career.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this endeavor was to conduct a formal

faculty development exercise to better enable faculty to
solve many common problems in the classroom. The exercise capitalized on the experiences of faculty and the sharing
of successful solutions to common problems experienced by
all faculty in the classroom. In addition, the activity involved
student input regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of solutions to the problems suggested by the faculty.
Specifically, the objectives of the study were to:
1. Identify common problems experienced by faculty in
the classroom;
2. Develop scenarios for each of these problems;
3. Rank the problems in order of seriousness as perceived
by the faculty and students;
4. Compare the perceived seriousness of the problems
between faculty and students;
5. Conduct a two hour session at a faculty retreat to discuss
the problems and propose possible solutions;
6. Have faculty rank the proposed solutions to each problem in order of their perceptions of the adequacy of the
solution to the problem;
7. Have students rank the proposed solutions in order of
their perceptions of the adequacy of the solutions and
compare these with the faculty perceptions; and
8. Present the results to faculty and discuss differences in
student and faculty perceptions of the adequacy of
solutions to the problems.
METHODS

To assist the reader, Table I provides a summary of the

activities associated with the faculty development exercise.
To begin, faculty were surveyed using the critical incident
technique to identify problems which they may have experienced in the classroom. A content analysis of these problems was performed resulting in a list of those events which
had proven to be problematic for the faculty in the classroom. Faculty were again surveyed and asked to rate each of
these problems in terms of their perceptions of the seriousness of the problem at the school of pharmacy. A scale from
1(Not a Real Problem) to 10 (Serious Problem) was used.
The same questionnaire was administered to first, second
and third year students at the school of pharmacy. Seriousness levels were operationally defined as low [1-3]; moderate [4-7] and high [8-10].
288

Table II. Problems associated with classroom teaching

in decreasing order of faculty perception of seriousness
(N=20)
Problem
1. Lack of time for students to adequately
prepare outside of class for case studies
and problem solving sessions in class
2. Students wait until the day or two before
the examination to study, realize they do
not know the material and request help
sessions, appointments with the instructor
and/or postponement of the examination
3. Distractions during class from students
who are talking to one another.
4. Students write cruel, insensitive, personal
comments on evaluations that are not
related to the course or instructor
5. Not enough time in courses to adequately
cover the material required.
6. In classroom discussions, the same few
students take part and most never
participate.
7. Students feel evaluations of faculty and
courses are not acted upon.
8. Students are tardy causing disruptions.
9. Students close notebooks and prepare to
leave class at end of class period while
instructor is still lecturing which is disconcerting for both students and faculty.
10. Students perceive material in class not
relevant to the practice of pharmacy.
11. While discussing examination in class,
students argue with the instructor and
become belligerent and disrespectful
12. Grading scale is not the same in all
courses.
13. Electives are too rigorous and require
too much work and work and time.
a

Mean
ratinga
7.0

6.9
6.2
6.2
5.8
5.5
5.4
5.0

5.0
4.3
4.3
3.9
2.8

Rating: 1 = Not a Real Problem; 10 = Serious Problem.

Scenarios illustrating each of these problems were developed. These scenarios described in detail the circumstances under which each of these problems may arise. In
many cases, they were developed following discussion with
the specific faculty member who had submitted the problem.
Each year the school of pharmacy conducts a faculty
retreat which includes a faculty development activity. A two
hour session was devoted to the discussion of the problems
in the classroom survey. A facilitator, the first author, led the
discussion. Each faculty member had been provided with a
copy of the scenarios prior to the faculty retreat. The facilitator read the scenarios and approximately 10-15 minutes
was devoted to discussion of each problem. Emphasis in the
discussion was placed on successful solutions which had
been used by various faculty for each of the problems. A flip
chart was used to facilitate and focus the discussion and
provided an excellent record of the solutions proposed and
discussed by the faculty. All activities of the faculty retreat
including problems in the classroom discussion were evaluated by the faculty in terms of their usefulness and value to
the faculty.
Following the faculty retreat, the faculty received a
copy of the solutions to each of the problems which were

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

Fig. 1. Comparison of Faculty Versus Student Perceptions of the

Seriousness of Classroom Problems

Fig. 2. Perceived Seriousness of Classroom Problems of Students by

Professional Year.

proposed and discussed. The faculty was then requested to

rate each potential solution for each problem on a scale of 1
(Very Ineffective) to 5 (Very Effective). In order to compare the student perceptions of the effectiveness of these
solutions, the same questionnaire was administered to students who were members of the student government association (Council of Students). At the conclusion of the
exercise, all results were summarized in a poster presentation and displayed for one month in the commons area for
all students to review.

3. Grading scale is not the same in all courses.

4. Electives are too rigorous and require too much work
and time.

RESULTS
Problems Identified and Perceived Seriousness by Faculty

The results of the content analysis of the problems

submitted by the faculty appear in Table II The faculty
identified 13 problems which they or others have experienced in their classroom. The problems are arranged in
decreasing order of their perceived seriousness by the faculty. Questionnaires were received from 20 (67.7 percent) of
the 30 faculty who received the questionnaires. The problems were rated on a scale of 1 (Not a Real Problem) to 10
(Serious Problem). The perceived seriousness of the problems varied from 2.8 to 7.0.
Comparison of Faculty Versus Students Perceived Seriousness of Problems

Questionnaires were completed by 347 of students in

the first three years of Mercer four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. Faculty and students perceptions of the
seriousness of the problems were compared using independent sample t tests (P = 0.05) corrected for multiple analyses
using the Bonferroni procedure. These results may be examined in Figure 1. Six of the problems perceived seriousness
differed between faculty and students. The following were
perceived as more serious by faculty than students:
1. Students who wait until the day before examinations
and make special requests of the instructor.
2. Students who write cruel, insensitive and personal comments on evaluations that are not related to the course
or the instructor teaching.
The following four problems were rated as significantly
more serious by the students than the faculty:
1. Students feel evaluations of faculty and courses are not
acted upon.
2. Students perceive material in class not relevant to the
practice of pharmacy.

Perceived Seriousness of Problems of Students by Professional Year

Six of the thirteen problems were rated statistically

significantly different by students according to their professional year status. Questionnaires were completed by 116
first year students and 125 second year and 106 third year
students. Analyses were accomplished by single factor
ANOVA (P = 0.05) using a Bonferroni correction and
Bonferroni post hoc tests at a significance level of 0.05.
Results are reported in Figure 2 and summarized below:
1. Lack of time for students to prepare outside of class.
Third year students felt this to be a much more serious
problem than first and second year students, rating it
7.9. There was no difference in first and second year
students.
2. Students wait until the day or two before the exam to
study then make special requests of the instructor: All
three classes rated this problem as low in seriousness
with no significant difference among the three classes..
3. Distractions during class from students who are talking
to one another: No difference was detected with all
three classes rating it of moderate severity.
4. Students write cruel, insensitive omments on evaluations: This problem was rated approximately the same
for all students with general agreement that it had low
to moderate seriousness.
5. Not enough time in courses to adequately cover material: This problem was rated very serious by second
and third year students and significantly higher than first
year students.
6. In classroom discussion, the same few students participate and most never participate: This was rated as
having moderate seriousness with no difference among
the three classes.
7. Students feel evaluations of faculty and courses not
acted upon to produce change: This problem seems to
increase as the students progress from year to year with
first year students rating it significantly lower in seriousness than second or third year.
8. Students are tardy causing disruption: This is perceived
by all students to be of low seriousness with no difference among the classes observed.

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

289

Table III. Faculty(N=15) versus students(N=19) perceptions of effectiveness of solutions to problems with
classroom teaching
Mean
Faculty

Student

3.74
3.63
3.42

2.87
3.13
3.33*

Students wait until a day or two before the examination to study, realize they do not
know the material and request help sessions, appointments with the instructor and/or
postponement of the examination.
Use free write to determine what students do not understand
Teach students time management
Give weekly, short examinations
Establish mid-term week
Establish policy of not answering questions day before or exam day
Teach one course at a time
Give fewer examinations

3.79
3.78
3.68
3.47
3.42
2.52
2.26

4.27*
3.20
3.93
2.13
1.93
2.73
2.27

-0.01
1.17
-0.62
2.87
3.53
-0.41
-0.01

Distractions during class from students who are talking to one another.
Talk with offending students in office and explain distraction
Call on talking students with questions in class
Directly address problem by asking students to cease talking immediately
Have president of class address problem with class
Momentarily stop lecture and stare at offending students

3.68
3.63
3.42
3.10
2.68

3.00
3.93
4.06*
2.93
3.06

1.69
-0.88
-1.64
0.38
-0.75

Student write cruel, insensitive, personal comments on evaluations that are not related to
the course of instructor.
Develop more objective instrument
Department chair screens evaluations and eliminates offensive comments
Explain importance of evaluations and encourage only constructive comments
Provide faculty development in teaching effectiveness

4.37
4.10
3.95
3.84

3.89
3.40
3.87
4.20*

1.30
1.68
0.22
-0.84

Not enough time in courses to adequately cover the material required.

Change educational modality from lecture to, e.g., CA1, reading etc.
Provide students with outlines or informational to minimize note taking
Limit or eliminate student announcements during class
Assign required readings
Provide students with detailed objectives

4.42
4.05
3.90
3.84
3.47

2.40
5.00*
3.33
2.27
4.53

5.20**
4.69
1.16
4.22**
-2.79

In classroom discussions, the same few students take part and most never participate.
Organize students into small discussion groups
Call on specific students
Use pharmacists to lead small discussion groups
Use graduate students to lead small discussion groups
Use undergraduate students to lead small discussion groups

4.10
4.00
3.90
3.84
3.63

3.70
3.20
3.53
3.73*
3.26

0.89
2.17
0.77
0.27
0.91

Students feel evaluations of faculty and courses are not acted upon to produce change
Appoint ombudsperson to address problems
Schedule evaluations early in term and at beginning of class
Have several evaluations during term
More thoroughly explain process
Have Dean or faculty explain how used

3.89
3.68
3.63
3.58
3.42

4.27
3.67
3.87
3.60
4.47*

-1.49
0.05
-0.59
-0.06
-3.11

4.58
3.85
3.84
3.78
3.21
3.05
2.63

4.53*
3.13
4.07
3.27
2.20
2.27
2.73

0.15
2.22
-0.66
1.29
2.14
1.42
-0.24

Problem and solution(s)

1. Lack of time for students to adequately prepare outside of class for case studies and
problem solving sessions in class.
Give short quizzes at start of class
Assign study groups to meet outside of class
Give written assignments about case to turn in before case study discussion
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8. Students are tardy causing disruption

Periodically synchronize all clocks
Make clear early on that student are expected to be punctual
Instructor arrives at class early
All classes begin on the hour
Meet with tardy students and discuss
Use bells to indicate starting times
Identify behavior in class as boorish

290

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

t
2.27
1.29
0.023

Table III. (cont.) Faculty(N=15) versus students(N=19) perceptions of effectiveness of solutions to problems with
classroom teaching
Problem and solution(s)
9. Students close notebooks and prepare to leave class at end of class period while
instructor is still lecturing which is disconcerting for both students and faculty.
Instructor pay closer attention to time
Explain reason for going overtime
Student announcements at end of class
Instructor pace lecture better
If lengthy explanation necessary, wait until next session
Cover less material in class

Mean
Faculty

Student

4.05
3.79
3.79
3.74
3.21
3.00

4.60*
4.53
2.47
4.47
3.60
2.80

-2.08
-2.44
3.39
-2.42
-0.85
1.13

10. Students perceive material in class not relevant to the contemporary practice
of pharmacy.
Explain in class why important
Use activities like Shadow Program
Invite upper level students or practitioners to give testimonials
Explain students will be professionals and receive education, not training
Explain that if only perform manipulative skills, may be replaced

4.21
3.53
3.52
3.31
3.26

4.60*
4.33
4.20
3.53
3.20

-1.66
-2.26
-1.68
-0.54
0.17

11. While discussion examination in class, students argue with the instructor and become
belligerent and disrespectful.
Develop better exam questions
Schedule special session to discuss
Lessen reluctance to concede student correct
Students review exam in office and make appointment to discuss
Only review items missed by many
Use written form to submit and receive questions or appeal answers
Establish policy of no questions in class

4.53
4.16
4.05
3.84
3.68
3.63
2.42

4.07
4.40
3.87
3.33
4.80*
3.93
3.07

1.30
-0.60
0.47
1.08
-3.90**
-0.66
-1.35

12. Grading scale is not the same in all courses

Determine correlation between grades and other courses/rotations
Explain that poor students perform poorly in later courses/rotations
Explain minimum level of competence is more necessary in some courses

3.68
3.42
3.21

3.93*
3.20
3.47

-0.69
0.57
-0.58

13. Electives are to rigorous and require too much work and time.
Clarify in orientation that no difference in elective and required
Explain perception that electives are easier due to high grades as result of interest
Schedule elective finals same as required
Have curriculum committee address issue

4.26
3.58
3.21
2.89

3.67
3.80
1.33
3.93*

1.40
-0.67
5.64**
-2.34

* Highest student mean.

** t significant, P<0.05 with Bonferroni correction.

9.

10.

11.

12.
13.

Students close notebooks and prepare to leave class at

end of period while instructor is still lecturing: This
problem is rated at low to moderate seriousness with
third year students. Rating is lower than first or second
year students.
Students perceive material in class not relevant to contemporary practice of pharmacy: Perception of this
problem was found to be significant and less of a problem for first year students than second or third year
students.
When discussing examinations in class, students argue
with instructor and become belligerent and disrespectful: All students perceive this to be a problem of little
seriousness with no statistical significance among the
three classes..
Grading scale is not the same in all courses: This is a
relatively serious problem for all students with no significant differences observed among the three classes..
Electives are too rigorous and require too much work
and time: First year students rate this less serious than
second and third year students.

Scenarios for Problems in the Classroom

In order to stimulate discussion of the problems, scenarios illustrating each were developed and distributed to
the faculty prior to the faculty retreat. These scenarios may
be examined in the appendix. In many cases, these scenarios
were written following discussions with the faculty who had
suggested the problem in the original request for critical
incidents.
Comparison of Faculty and Students Ratings of Effectiveness of Solutions for Problems

In discussions during the two hour session at the faculty

retreat, numerous solutions were offered for the problems as
described in the scenarios. In the week following the
retreat, faculty were asked via questionnaire to rate the
effectiveness of each of these solutions proposed on a scale
of 1 to 5. The solutions and the mean values of these ratings
may be examined in Table III. The solutions are listed in
decreasing order of their perceived effectiveness by the
faculty. For comparative purposes, students in the student
government association (Council of Students) were also

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

291

asked to rate how effective they felt the solutions were.

Nineteen of 22 members returned questionnaire. Their
mean ratings are also reported in Table 3. The solutions the
students rated as the most effective for each problem are
marked with an asterisk (*).
The mean ratings of the students and faculty on each
solution were compared using an independent sample t test
(P = 0.05) with a Bonferroni correction. Those t values that
were statistically significant are marked with two asterisks
(**)
Differences in opinions regarding perceptions of
which solutions were effective included the following:
1. Lack of time for students to prepare outside of class:
The faculty felt the best solution was to give short
quizzes at the beginning of class. This was rated last by
the students who felt that written assignments was the
best solution, the faculty rating it last.
2. Students wait until the day or two before the exam to
study then make special requests of the instructor: The
students and faculty agreed that Free Write is a
procedure wherein periodically e.g., every week, students are given index cards to write things they dont
understand. At the beginning of the next class the
instructor takes some time to explain.
3. Distractions during class from students who are talking
to one another: Faculty felt the best solution is to talk
with offending students in the office. Students felt the
most effective solution is to directly address the problem by asking the offending students in class.
4. Students write cruel, insensitive comments on evaluations: Faculty felt the best solution was to develop a
more objective instrument whereas the students felt
faculty development programs on teaching was the
most effective. The latter was rated last by the faculty.
5. Not enough time in courses to adequately cover material: Faculty felt changing educational modality was the
most effective solution. This was rated very low by the
students and was statistically significant. The students
felt the best solution was to minimize note taking by
providing students with detailed lecture outlines. Assigning required readings was rated significantly higher
by faculty whereas students rated the provision of detailed outlines as a solution higher than faculty.
6. In classroom discussion the same few students participate and most never participate: None of the solutions
were statistically significant with both faculty and students indicating that small discussion groups may be
a good solution.
7. Students feel evaluations of faculty and courses not
acted upon to produce change: The students felt this
could best be solved by having the dean or faculty
explain the process. This was rated last by the faculty
who felt the best way to solve the problem would be to
appoint ombudspersons in each class to monitor problems.
8. Students are tardy causing disruption: Both faculty and
students agree that clocks in classrooms and halls are in
need of synchronization. Neither group felt that identifying tardiness in class as boorish or using bells are
very effective solutions.
9. Students close notebooks and prepare to leave class at
end of period while instructor is still lecturing: Both
students and faculty felt that the best solution is for
the faculty member to pay closer attention to the time. In
292

Table IV. Faculty assessment of workshop

Extremely Useful:
Useful:
Neutral:
Not Useful:
Extremely Not Useful:

10.

11.

12.
13.

N
14
10
3
2
1

(percent)
(46.6)
(33.3)
(10.0)
(6.7)
(3.3)

addition, explaining the reason for continuing beyond

class was perceived as being relatively more effective by
both groups.
Students perceive material in class not relevant to contemporary practice of pharmacy: Both groups indicated
that simply explaining relevance in class would be an
effective solution to this problem. Both groups also
concurred that if faculty point out If only manipulative
skills are performed, then pharmacists may be replaced
would not be an effective solution.
When discussing examinations in class, students argue
with instructor and become belligerent and disrespectful: Faculty felt the development of better examinations
is the best solution whereas students to a significantly
greater degree felt that by only reviewing those questions missed by most students would be the best solution. Both groups ranked the establishment of a policy
of no questions in class about the examination as the
least effective of the solutions suggested.
Grading scale is not the same in all courses: Both
students and faculty agreed that showing correlation
between certain courses effective solution.
Electives are too rigorous and require too much work
and time: Faculty felt that the best solution is to clarify
in orientation that there is no difference in elective and
required courses. The faculty also rated having the
curriculum committee address the issue last in effectiveness with the students rating it first. Scheduling the
elective final exam at the same time as the required
course examinations was rated significantly higher in
effectiveness by faculty.

Faculty Evaluation of the Benefit of the Exercise at the

Retreat

At the conclusion of the retreat, in addition to several

aspects of the retreat in general, faculty were asked to
evaluate each of the five major activities conducted during
the retreat in terms of helping them fulfill their duties as
faculty. With regard to the workshop on handling difficult
classroom situations, the faculty assessment is summarized
in Table IV.
DISCUSSION
Rating of Seriousness of Problems by Faculty

Using the operational definitions of the levels of seriousness of the problems, nine of the problems fall into the
moderate category and four in the low category. The problems perceived as most serious by faculty relate to students
time or lack of it. The two most serious problems include a
lack of time for the students to prepare for class activities
and preparing for examinations at the last minute. While the
latter may be an indication of simple procrastination, time
may play an important factor. The lack of time may be
indicative of a student body which, by necessity, must have

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

significant outside employment. This may be especially true

for students at private schools which traditionally have
higher tuition. Over one-half of the student body at this
school work at least part-time according to a recent survey.
Another factor concerning time may relate to the increased rigor in the curriculum. Moreover, a recent change
to the semester system has produced a situation wherein the
students must take many courses at one time, resulting in a
significant number of examinations throughout the term. As a
result, the students are continually studying for one examination and ignoring other courses until the examination in
those classes comes up.
A lack of time on the part of the faculty member was also
rated of moderate seriousness and relatively high, specifically, the lack of time to adequately cover material in class.
The utilization of improved educational methodologies and
technologies may ameliorate this problem. Faculty must
reassess the relationship between process and content. In
addition, placing more responsibility on the student for
learning material may relieve the faculty member of the
necessity of covering all material in class. Of course, this
requires more time from students and may further increase
the seriousness of an already serious problem for them.
Problems of a disciplinary nature were rated in the
middle group of problems in terms of seriousness by faculty.
The problems include talking during class, writing cruel and
insensitive comments on evaluations, few students taking
part in discussions, and students being tardy to class. Discipline problems are usually associated with primary and
secondary education, certainly not with a professional school.
These types of problems may be especially disconcerting to
many neophyte pharmacy faculty who may have felt that
they would not have to be confronted with disciplinary
problems. A lack of training and experience in dealing with
these types of problems only serves to exacerbate the situation and indicates the need for faculty development programs to better enable faculty to deal with this type of
problem..
Problems relating to relevance of material, grading
scale differences and rigor of electives are perceived among
the least serious problems by faculty. These may not be
perceived as problematic inasmuch as the faculty, exercising
academic freedom, feel they are in control of these factors
and if they were problematic, have the power and privilege
of changing them. As discussed in the next section, these
problems are perceived as being more serious by students.
This difference of opinion may be indicative of the need for
dialog and discussion between faculty and students to assist
in their resolution.
Comparison of Faculty Versus Student Perceptions of
Seriousness

Problems Faculty Perceived as More Serious than Students.

Six of the twelve problems were rated differently by faculty
and students in terms of their perceived seriousness. Those
in which the faculty rated as more serious related to students
waiting until the last minute to study and writing cruel
comments on evaluations. Waiting until the last minute to
study and making special requests of the faculty is not
perceived as problematic by the students, but very serious
for faculty. The students perhaps feel this is part of the
responsibility of the faculty member to answer student
requests. This would be especially true among those faculty
that consider themselves student advocates. As a result, the

students may have enhanced expectations. Faculty, on the

other hand, probably perceive this procrastination of study
for their examination as an indication of a lack of interest in
their course. This is the type of problem that needs to be
effectively communicated to students. It is obvious that they
do not consider the behavior problematic and, therefore,
may never take ameliorative action.
The number of students who wrote cruel or insensitive
comments on evaluations are few in number. However, the
impact of these few are quite significant for faculty as
indicated by the seriousness as perceived by faculty versus
students. Because it is perceived as being so much more
serious by the faculty, it clearly should be communicated to
students that evaluations are to be used as constructive
instruments for improvement of faculty teaching and inappropriate comments negatively impact the effectiveness of
their evaluations.
Problems Students Perceived as More Serious than Faculty.

Four problems were perceived as more serious by students

than faculty. The fact that students feel evaluations are not
acted upon indicates the need for more effective communication between the administration and the students regarding the utilization of the evaluations. There is inherent
difficulty in sharing with students the particulars of actions
taken by administration as a result of student evaluations,
such as denied promotions or salary increases. In some
respects, and with regard to this, the students may simply
have to accept the word of the administration that actions
are taken, but changes in behavior may not be perceived by
students. A possible contributing factor to this problem may
be the fact that evaluations are at the end of courses and, if
students do not have the instructor again, they would have
no way of knowing if action had been taken. Further,
changes in faculty behavior as a result of student evaluations
may be slow in evolving. Since the students are only at the
school for a relatively short time, they may not be able to
observe the changes over time. Another possible reason
may be fed by hearsay from previous classes and/or faculty.
The fact that students, more so than faculty, perceive
material in class not being relevant to the practice of pharmacy may be a function of several factors. One of these
factors is that students may simply not be aware of certain
aspects of practice inasmuch as they have not practiced.
Further, students may be of the impression that they should
receive an education to enable them to practice pharmacy,
as it exists, upon graduation. As educators, we must provide
the students with the capability and capacity not only to
practice at the time of graduation, but decades in the future
as well. To do otherwise would be shortchanging them. This
illustrates the need for faculty to discuss and explain the
relevance of course material to the students and to stress the
importance of developing critical thinking and problem
solving skills.
A grading system that is not the same in each class being
perceived as less of a problem by faculty may be related to
academic freedom. Many faculty maintain that it is their
right to establish a grading scale that is best for their courses.
Further, it may be the decision of an academic department
that certain courses require a more strict grading scale to
ensure optimum performance in later courses or rotations.
In any event, because the students perceive it to be more of
a problem than faculty, it may warrant discussion with
students.
Electives that are more rigorous than required courses

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293

poses more of a problem for students. Many students apparently believe that electives should not be as rigorous as
required courses. This may be due to the fact that students
take elective courses because they are interested in them.
The students may have the opinion that they should be fun
and not require as much effort as the required courses.
Faculty, on the other hand, do not share that belief and feel
all their courses, elective and required, should have the same
rigor.
Students Perceived Seriousness of Problems by
Professional Year

Approximately one-half of the problems were perceived as being different in seriousness among various classes.
Third year students perceive the lack of time to prepare
outside of class to be more of a problem. This may be a
function of third year classes being more reliant on case
studies requiring more preparation outside of class. Waiting
until the last minute to study for examinations does not seem to
be a serious problem for any classes in particular with all
rating it relatively low. It seems that this is more of a problem
for faculty and may be considered to be normal for
students who are used to this practice.
Students in all three classes perceive writing cruel,
insensitive comments on faculty evaluations to be a problem
of relatively low seriousness. Not surprisingly, as the students progress through the curriculum, they perceive faculty
evaluations not being acted upon to be more problematic.
As first year students, they may expect more change than is
possible from the evaluations. Since change in faculty teaching etc., may be somewhat slow to occur, it is reasonable that
students in the later years perceive this as more problematic.
Second and third year students perceive the lack of time
in courses to cover material to be more a problem than first
year. As the students progress through the curriculum, more
of the responsibility for learning is placed on the student.
This independent learning may be problematic for students
who may be more accustomed to the faculty providing them
with all the information that they will be responsible for in
the class. It is a problem that must be overcome if the onus
for learning is to truly be on the student. This would seem to
be a necessary prerequisite for the life long learning that
pharmacy educators would want to instill in students.
First year students perceive courses not relevant to
pharmacy as less of a problem than second or third year
students. This is probably due to their relative lack of
knowledge of the contemporary practice of pharmacy. As
they proceed through the curriculum, they learn more about
current practice and perceive some course work as not
practical or relevant inasmuch as the course may relate more
to future practice. As discussed, they need to be made aware
of the fact that educators cannot only teach the practice of
pharmacy as it exists today. Progressive education involves
teaching pharmacy practice in future decades. To do otherwise is short changing the student and creating a future
obsolescent practitioner. This is the kind of information that
must be communicated to the student.
Comparison of Faculty Versus Student Perceptions of
Effectiveness of Solutions for Problems

The perceived effectiveness of solutions to the classroom problems by faculty and students differed in several
respects. This has implications for the optimum resolution
of certain of these problems and may help explain why some
294

faculty become frustrated at their attempts to ameliorate

problems they encounter in the classroom. Recognizing
these differences indicates the need for effective communication between faculty and students to best resolve these
problems.
Faculty and students differ on the relative effectiveness
of solutions to solve the problem of a lack of time for
students to prepare outside of class. The faculty would
prefer administering quizzes to stimulate student preparedness; however, students prefer written assignments to assure
they are prepared. Unlike preparing for examinations, the
completion of written assignments has an end point where
the student is finished. This may explain students preference for written assignments. The fact that written assignments require more time for grading may have also influenced this difference of opinion.
Faculty and students are in general agreement on the
ways to solve the problem of waiting until the last minute to
study for examinations. Both groups are of similar opinion
that waiting until the last minute to study for examinations
may be ameliorated by using free write. This procedure
simply involves periodically (e.g., weekly) having students
at the end of class write on an index card those topics and
concepts they are having trouble understanding. The instructor addresses these at the beginning of the next class.
This procedure has been used with significant success and
may account for the extremely high rating by both students
and faculty. Students rate the policy of not allowing questions on the day before or day of the examination lower than
faculty. Students perhaps feel it is the responsibility of the
faculty member to be available even if it is at the last minute.
While faculty feel addressing the problem of students
talking in class is best in the privacy of their office, students
feel addressing the problem in class is best. In either case,
directly addressing the guilty parties seems to be perceived
as most effective.
Agreement regarding the rankings of the effectiveness
of the solutions to the problem of students writing cruel
insensitive comments was low. While faculty feel the best
solution is to develop a more effective evaluation instrument, students feel that helping the faculty to become better
teachers is the best solution. With regard to the former,
many faculty feel that an instrument that is more objective
and does not provide for subjective comments would be
beneficial. Students may not be aware of faculty development activities geared toward increasing teaching effectiveness. If that is the case, it points out the need to effectively
communicate that to them. Further, students may not be as
sensitive to the personal harm that their comments cause to
the faculty.
One of the possible solutions offered to the problem of
students writing cruel and personal comments on evaluations concerns providing faculty development in teaching
effectiveness, which students more so than faculty felt effective. Although the solution may not seem to fit the problem,
some personal factors such as personality, demeanor and
attitude of the faculty may be important factors associated
with effective teaching. The solution regarding faculty development in teaching would address those issues and help
faculty understand that many factors related to a caring
attitude are personal traits important to teaching effectiveness.
Although overall agreement was moderate in the
rankings, faculty feel that new educational modalities are

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

the solution to not having enough time in class to cover

material, students rate it last. Students are used to the
traditional lecture and feel comfortable being told in class
what is important. They, perhaps more than faculty, are
reluctant to utilize new learning methodologies and technology. This indicates a need to more effectively communicate the benefits of new teaching techniques to students as
well as faculty. Both groups agree that providing students
with complete lecture outlines and notes would be beneficial in ameliorating this problem. Carrying this to the extreme, providing the students with the entire lecture would
provide much additional time for other, novel educational
modalities such as case studies, problem based learning and
small group discussions.
To ensure more participation among students in class,
all tend to favor small discussion groups led by graduate
students, practitioners or undergraduate students. The latter two groups are available to schools which may not have
graduate programs. The use of practitioners to participate in
the teaching program may have an additional benefit of
lessening the traditional town versus gown dilemma that
plagues many schools of pharmacy today.
Students, unlike faculty, overwhelmingly feel the best
way to overcome the feeling of students that faculty evaluations are not acted upon is to have the dean or faculty
explain to the students how they are used. Although specific
examples could not obviously be used, it could be explained
that the evaluations are used in the consideration of promotions, salary increases and tenure. Their importance in
teaching improvement could also be emphasized. Because of
the success of using a class ombudspersons at the school of
pharmacy, this was rated high by faculty. This procedure
simply involves the election of a small group of students in
each class to meet periodically with the faculty member to
discuss problems in the class.
The problem of students arriving late could best be
solved, according to both groups, synchronizing all clocks.
Similarly, agreement was expressed in the best way to solve
the problem of students closing notebooks at the end of
class. With regard to the latter, each group feels that the
instructor should pay closer attention to time. In addition,
both groups feel the problem of material in class not being
relevant to pharmacy could be best addressed by faculty
explaining in class why the material they are presenting is
important and relevant. The fact that both groups are in
agreement to these solutions may indicate that they have a
better chance to produce a resolution if acted upon.
Students, unlike faculty, believe the best way to avoid
losing time going over examinations is to only go over in
class those questions missed most often by students. Inasmuch as most schools have examination grading software
that provides an item analysis, it should be fairly easy to
identify those questions missed most often by students.
Developing better examination questions, as suggested by
faculty, may ideally be the best solution, although it may not
be possible to completely eliminate the problem. A more
realistic solution as suggested next by faculty is to schedule a
special session outside of class to go over the examination.
This was rated also by students as being an effective solution
from their perspective as well indicating it would be met with
student acceptance.
Both students and faculty agree that determining the
correlation between certain courses with special grading
systems and later courses and rotations would be an effec-

tive solution to different grading scales in certain courses.

This, again, points out the importance of dialog between
students and faculty on decisions affecting matters of import
to the students, such as grades. Although the problem of
different grading scales is problematic for students, if it is
shown that less than optimal performance in some courses
leads to problems in later courses and rotations, they would
tend to accept the situation.
The approach to the problem of the rigor of electives is
different among students and faculty. While the faculty may
simply desire it to be accepted as a fait accompli, the students
would like the issue to be addressed by the curriculum
committee. The feeling of the faculty is related to the
question of academic freedom. They rate referral of the
problem to the curriculum committee as least effective,
thereby preserving their academic right. This points out the
need for dialog and discussion among faculty and administration as to exactly what rights are included in academic
freedom and the relative power of the curriculum committee versus the faculty in making decisions such as this.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The differences in student and faculty perceptions of the

seriousness of the classroom problems and the effectiveness
of various solutions to the problems indicate a real need for
the establishment of dialog between the two groups. This
exercise facilitated that dialog and provided keen insight
into the problems that all faculty experience in the classroom. Active involvement and collaboration of both faculty
and students on these problems have not only generated
potential solutions, but increased the awareness of students
to the seriousness of these problems experienced by faculty.
It also may serve to increase the sensitivity of the students to
faculty problems. Most importantly, it lets the students
know that their involvement is important and needed. The
exercise reflects the provision of a quality education with a
caring attitude or educational care.
This exercise revealed that there are significant differences in the perceived effectiveness of solutions for certain
problems in the classroom. Marked differences exist on
several issues, notably how faculty evaluations are handled
and the lack of time for students to prepare outside of class.
This exercise provided faculty with many suggestions as to
why some of the solutions they had tried in the past did not
work. In addition, the student input also provided an indication as to which solutions may be the most effective for the
faculty to utilize.
The exercise revealed to the students certain activities
that were problematic for faculty. Many students were
unaware that these problems existed. This in and of itself
may at least produce a partial solution to some of the
problems.
One possible limitation to the exercise is that only
faculty suggested solutions and the students rated their
opinions as to their effectiveness. Having the students develop and offer solutions may provide additional insight and
is a suggestion for future faculty development activity. This
may include faculty rating the students solutions to the
problems they (the students) feel are the most serious.
Another limitation includes the fact that only students who
were members of the student government were used to
evaluate the appropriateness of the solutions for the problems. However, it is felt that these students represent a good
group to address how well these solutions would solve

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295

problems associated with their constituency. Although the

number [19] of students in the student government performing this portion of the exercise is relatively low. it is approximately the same as the number [15] completed by faculty
and it is felt serves the purposes of the exercise.
An evaluation of the exercise following the faculty
retreat revealed that the exercise provided many faculty
with useful information with 24 of 30 (80 percent) of the
faculty indicating the exercise was useful or extremely useful. The exercise was extremely useful especially for younger
faculty who were able to benefit from the solutions to
common problems encountered by older, more experienced
faculty. Even the more experienced faculty indicated that
they had learned some new tricks from their peers.
Most importantly, this procedure is easily transferable
to other schools of pharmacy for use in faculty retreats or
meetings. Inasmuch as there is no reason to feel that these
problems are specific to one school of pharmacy, these same
problems and scenarios may be used as the basis for similar
discussions at other schools of pharmacy. However, faculty
may wish to establish their own set of problems and scenarios if it is felt that those described in this paper differ from
specific problems at their school.
Am. J. Pharm. Educ., 60, 287-297(19%). received 4/4/96, accepted 8/6/96.
References
(1) Pregent, R., Charting Your Course, Magna Publications, Madison WI
(1994), unnumbered page in conclusion.
(2) Weimer, M., Improving Your Classroom Teaching, Sage Publications. Newbury Park NJ (1993). p.39.
(3) McKeachie, W.J., Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for
College and University Teachers, D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington. Massachusetts MA (1994). p. 251.
(4) Ibid., p.5.
(5) Ibid.,p.7.

3.

4.

5.

6.

APPENDIX
Scenarios (Case Studies) for Problems
1.

2.

296

Lack of time for students to adequately prepare outside of

class for case studies and problem solving sessions in class.
The instructor has made several attempts to incorporate
problem solving skills in the classroom. Assignments are
made for outside of class reading so that the class period can
be devoted to discussing cases. Unfortunately, the students
are not as well prepared as they should be and the discussions
are not what they could be. The instructor starts calling on
students by name and keeping a record that will count toward
their grade. It does little to stimulate preparation. The students maintain they cant do all the reading be cause they must
study for examinations in other classes. The instructor tells
them they have an exam in his class every day in the form of
his calling on them for the cases. The students begin to dread
the class as much as the instructor does.
Students wait until the day or two before the examination to
study, realize they do not know the material and request help
sessions, appointments with the instructor and/or postponement of the examination.
The instructor has spent several class periods covering some
very difficult material. He is surprised that no one really has
any questions. He feels he must have an excellent job in
providing understandable explanations for all these difficult
concepts. Three days before the examination he is besieged
with students who have many questions and need further
explanations. Since they had other exams over the past two
weeks, they were just now getting around to studying his

7.

8.

9.

material and realized they do not understand. They ask him to

schedule some help sessions during the noon hour, postpone
the exam and let them make appointments with him for some
one on one tutoring. They maintain they pay a premium
tuition and deserve it.
Distractions during class from students who are talking to one
another.
The instructor is well prepared for each class and makes every
attempt to keep the material interesting. Several times during
the lectures the students begin to talk to one another. This
proves to be very distracting to the instructor who sometimes
finds it difficult to concentrate. The class has been urged to
keep quiet but to no avail. Students have now begun to
complain to the instructor that they are having difficulty
hearing the lectures because of all the talking during class.
Students write cruel, insensitive, personal comments on evaluations that arc not related to the course or instructors teaching.
The student evaluations of teaching are supposed to increase
teaching effectiveness. Recently, however, the instructor has
received many cruel and personal negative comments. Some
of these do not even relate to teaching effectiveness. Instead
of helping the instructor, he is discouraged and disheartened
about his performance. He is beginning to wonder if he made
the right choice in choosing leaching as a career.
Not enough time in courses to adequately cover the material
required.
Each term the instructor seems to have less and less time to
cover the material. The students try to get down every word of
every class and there are so many questions, it is difficult to
cover the required amount of material. The instructor is
considering setting up extra class periods to make sure he gets
through the material. To make matters worse, the students are
complaining about having so much material covered on each
exam.
In classroom discussions, the same few students take part and
most never participate.
In an effort to incorporate critical thinking and problem
solving in classroom, the instructor had begun to hold general
classroom discussions as part of the course. Sometimes this
involves case studies and debates on issues. Unfortunately,
there are a few students who monopolize the discussions while
others never say anything. The instructor wants to give everyone the opportunity to participate, but that is difficult to do
with 120 people in the class.
Students feel evaluations of faculty and courses are not acted
upon.
For the fourth year in a row less than 20 percent of the class has
filled out the evaluation forms for a class. When asked why,
the students maintain that the evaluations do not mean anything. They assert that no changes have been made or observed by the school as a result of the evaluations, therefore,
they are not taking the time to fill them out. Besides, they are
in their last year and changes will not affect them anyway. The
instructor is concerned and really wants input from the class.
In addition, he needs to demonstrate teaching proficiency for
promotion purposes.
Students are tardy causing disruptions.
The instructor arrives punctually for his class at 2:05 PM, the
designated lime. Each day, however, students are still entering the classroom as late as 2:15. He waits impatiently at the
lectern until most of the students are seated. He begins each
lecture late. In addition, students arriving after he has begun
the class are disconcerting to both the instructor and other
students as they crawl over each other on the way to their
seals.
Students close notebooks and prepare to leave class at end of
class period while instructor is still lecturing which is disconcerting for both students and faculty.
At precisely the moment designated as the end of class.

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Vol. 60, Fall 1996

students begin to close notebooks and gather items together

even though the instructor is still lecturing. Some actually
leave their seats and head toward the door. The instructor
needs to finish discussing an important part of the lecture. To
wait until the next session will break up the continuity. This is
happening more and more. The instructor not only finds it
annoying, but disrespectful and a sign that he is losing control
of the class.
10. Students perceive material in class not relevant to the practice
of pharmacy.
The instructor is becoming concerned because many students
have indicated on his evaluations that the course material is
not relevant to the practice of pharmacy they will enter. They
maintain that they are not going for a residency and see no
reason to learn all this high powered stuff. They indicate
that they want to work for a chain and fill prescriptions only.
Some have even questioned the relevancy of course material
during class causing embarrassment to the instructor.
11. While discussing examination in class, students argue with the
instructor and become belligerent and disrespectful.
The instructor has been advised that he should go over exams
in class. In addition, students have requested it. As each

question is reviewed, however, there are students who voice

disagreement with the instructor over the most correct answer. Students become angry and in some cases disrespectful
as arguments on certain questions and answers escalate. It
takes longer and longer to go over the exams in class and as a
result sometimes takes the entire class period. The instructor
feels that some of the students may actually be stimulating
debate to use up the class time.
12. Grading scale is not the same in all courses.
Since the school does not have a uniform grading scale and
since some consider this part of academic freedom, grading
scales differ from course to course. The instructor in one
course that has a very high scale (75 is passing) receives many
complaints from the students who want to know why.
13. Electives are too rigorous and require too much work and
time.
The instructor had devoted much time to the development of
her elective. It is an important area and many students initially
signed up for it. Since it requires much effort, fewer and fewer
students are choosing it as their elective. They maintain that
electives should be fun and not have as much rigor as the
required courses. The instructor is disappointed that more
students do not sign up for her elective.

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