First year Undergraduate Pharmacy Students’ and Academics’ views of and Preferences for Learning and Teaching. A Preliminary Investigation

One of the activities of any university faculty is the education of their students. Therefore, understanding not only students’ preferences for learning and teaching, but their academics’ views as well is essential. The aim of this paper is to conduct a preliminary investigation into first-year undergraduate pharmacy students and their academics’ views of and preferences for learning and teaching. Focus groups interviews were conducted with a sample of first-year students. Individual interviews were conducted with a sample of academics. All interviews were audio taped, transcribed verbatim and underwent thematic, comparative analysis. Four key themes emerged regarding students’ preferences: teacher characteristics (enthusiasm); communication (face-to-face); transition to tertiary environment (independence); and study strategies (YouTube). Analysis of the academic interviews revealed two key themes: student characteristics (independence); and communication (face-to-face). In conclusion, there are some points of difference between students and academics’ preferences that are worthy of further investigation.