Preliminary Evaluation of a Reform of Methods to Teach Pharmaceutical Polymer Materials Science to a Class of Diverse Majors

  Objective: Pharmaceutical polymer materials science is a new discipline that integrates the fields of materials science, polymer chemistry, polymer physics and pharmaceutical preparation and it is an indispensable part of modern pharmacy. This study aimed to improve the quality of teaching pharmaceutical polymer materials science to a class of mixed majors. Materials and Methods: We reformed the teaching content and methods of the pharmaceutical polymer materials course at Southwest University and implemented strategies to enhance exchange between teachers and students. In redesigning the teaching content, we made use of multiple teaching methods including example-teaching, heuristic teaching, problem-based learning, comparative teaching, interactive teaching and the flipped classroom. Results: Reforming teaching methods improved teaching quality and student interest in the course. Conclusion: The reformed teaching program in this study was effective at improving student interest, initiative and enthusiasm for learning. The strategies used in this reform should be promoted and applied in the teaching of other courses.