Exploring cognitive apprenticeship and teaching practices in pharmacy education

Health professions schools in the United States and internationally have engaged in curricular changes to better prepare students for the future of health care. However, designing or selecting evidence-based teaching activities can be a challenge. Research suggests the Cognitive Apprenticeship theory is an effective framework for the health professions to inform instruction design, yet these studies have mainly focused on the clinical setting and not the didactic learning environment. This study used qualitative methods to explore the Cognitive Apprenticeship framework in the didactic learning environment and the teaching practices that pharmacy faculty used to explicate their expert thinking to students. Faculty were observed using all four Cognitive Apprenticeship dimensions (ie, Content, Sequencing, Methods, Sociology) in their teaching practice. Patterns were observed in the data revealing complex, short and sometimes spontaneous teaching practices that faculty used to promote learning.