Development and Validation of Pharmacology Concept Inventory for Concept‐Based Learning: Leveraging Theory, Expert Insights, and Student Perspectives

Misconceptions in pharmacology can undermine learning and compromise both clinical and scientific reasoning, yet few validated tools exist to identify them. Consequently, we developed and validated the Pharmacology Concept Inventory (PCI), which can be used to identify misconceptions, assess learning gains, and evaluate teaching effectiveness. This PCI was designed based on the IUPHAR-Education Section (IUPHAR-Ed) Core Concepts of Pharmacology Project, addressing eight core concepts: drug efficacy, drug-target interaction, steady-state concentration, structure-activity relationship, drug tolerance, drug bioavailability, volume of distribution, and drug clearance. A triangulated design strategy integrated theoretical frameworks, expert review, and student perspectives. Experts examined quality, content validity, and cognitive alignment. The pilot PCI was then administered to a student cohort to evaluate its psychometric properties, providing preliminary evidence for further refinement. Item-level content validity indices ranged from 0.67 to 1.00, with a scale-level average of 0.93. Seventy students completed the pilot survey, leading to the exclusion of items with low discrimination and reliability. Items on drug-target interaction were removed due to consistently poor performance. The final PCI included 26 items covering seven concepts, with strong discrimination indices (0.36-0.75) and difficulty indices (0.26-0.71). Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91), and concept-level reliability ranged from 0.64 to 0.85. The PCI provides strong evidence for identifying misconceptions and assessing learning outcomes through a pre-post-test approach. Although the PCI currently addresses only a subset of concepts, continued refinements informed by surveys and interviews will enhance its utility and expand its scope for concept-based learning and curriculum evaluation.

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Journal
Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
Published
2026-03-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/prp2.70237
Primary Topic
Science Education and Pedagogy
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article
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article

Development and Validation of Pharmacology Concept Inventory for Concept‐Based Learning: Leveraging Theory, Expert Insights, and Student Perspectives

Martin Hawes, Anna‐Marie Babey, Anneke H. van Houwelingen, Publisher Dr. Farhan Ahmad Khan et al.
Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
Science Education and Pedagogy
article

Development and Validation of Pharmacology Concept Inventory for Concept‐Based Learning: Leveraging Theory, Expert Insights, and Student Perspectives

Martin Hawes, Anna‐Marie Babey, Anneke H. van Houwelingen, Publisher Dr. Farhan Ahmad Khan, Fabiana A. Caetano Crowley, Graeme J. Sills, Marina Santiago, Willmann Liang, Steven Tucker, Carolina Restini, Olusola Olafuyi, Róisín Kelly‐Laubscher, Patrik Aronsson, Elvan Djouma, Margaret Cunningham, Kelly Dowhower Karpa, Jennelle Durnett Richardson, Jennifer Koenig, Janet Mifsud, Paul White, Lynette Fernandes, J. JOSEPH MCLAUGHLIN, Mark Hernandez, Lindsay E. Cormier, John P. Kelly, Tony Hughes, Tina Hinton, Clare Guilding, Adeladlew K. Netere
article en

Abstract

Misconceptions in pharmacology can undermine learning and compromise both clinical and scientific reasoning, yet few validated tools exist to identify them. Consequently, we developed and validated the Pharmacology Concept Inventory (PCI), which can be used to identify misconceptions, assess learning gains, and evaluate teaching effectiveness. This PCI was designed based on the IUPHAR-Education Section (IUPHAR-Ed) Core Concepts of Pharmacology Project, addressing eight core concepts: drug efficacy, drug-target interaction, steady-state concentration, structure-activity relationship, drug tolerance, drug bioavailability, volume of distribution, and drug clearance. A triangulated design strategy integrated theoretical frameworks, expert review, and student perspectives. Experts examined quality, content validity, and cognitive alignment. The pilot PCI was then administered to a student cohort to evaluate its psychometric properties, providing preliminary evidence for further refinement. Item-level content validity indices ranged from 0.67 to 1.00, with a scale-level average of 0.93. Seventy students completed the pilot survey, leading to the exclusion of items with low discrimination and reliability. Items on drug-target interaction were removed due to consistently poor performance. The final PCI included 26 items covering seven concepts, with strong discrimination indices (0.36-0.75) and difficulty indices (0.26-0.71). Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91), and concept-level reliability ranged from 0.64 to 0.85. The PCI provides strong evidence for identifying misconceptions and assessing learning outcomes through a pre-post-test approach. Although the PCI currently addresses only a subset of concepts, continued refinements informed by surveys and interviews will enhance its utility and expand its scope for concept-based learning and curriculum evaluation.

Pharmacology Research & PerspectivesVol. 14(2)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), East Tennessee State University (US), Western University (CA), The University of Sydney (AU), University of Nottingham (GB), University of Kentucky (US), Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital (IN), University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (NL), The University of Western Australia (AU), University of Strathclyde (GB), Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE), Utrecht University (NL), University of Aberdeen (GB), La Trobe University (AU), University of Malta (MT), University College Cork (IE), University of Surrey (GB), Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (US), Monash University (AU), University of Glasgow (GB), Newcastle University (GB), Michigan State University (US), University of Gothenburg (SE), University of Hong Kong (HK), University of New England (AU), Macquarie University (AU)
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