Optimizing Student Engagement in Pharmaceutical Mathematics Learning: A Case-Based Blended Learning Approach

Abstract This study aims to determine pharmacy students’ engagement in learning pharmaceutical mathematics using case-based blended learning. The engagement measured included cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement. This study employed quantitative descriptive approach, involving 37 pharmacy students of Universitas PGRI Adi Buana Surabaya in a case-based blended learning. The blended learning which was focused on the material of concentration calculation was conducted with the assistance of Virlenda. There were two research instruments used in this study including a questionnaire to measure cognitive and affective engagement and an observation sheet to measure behavioral engagement. Both instruments have been validated by two pharmacy education experts and one psychometric expert, showing good internal consistency in the reliability test using Cronbach’s alpha. The results of the study indicated that case-based blended learning assisted by Virlenda was effective in increasing student engagement since the majority students showed the ability to relate new material with previous knowledge. Meanwhile, students demonstrated behavioral engagement by actively participating in discussions and learning activities. At last, the Virlenda platform may help with the effective implementation of case-based blended learning by enabling a flexible and dynamic learning environment.