Development and Evaluation of the Application-Based Case Study Program

Background: Health educators have developed mobile learning activities to improve teaching and learning. Aims: To evaluate a mobile application-based case study (ABCS) assignment and to determine the attitudes of pharmacy students. Methods: We designed an application (APP) to explore the learning implications of ABCS in advancing therapeutic decision making skills. Students were asked to work on case studies by the APP and then surveys were conducted to determine students’ attitude toward ABCS. Results: The survey results showed that 78.5% agreed the APP was well designed, 65.6% agreed that communication with the instructor was convenient by the APP, and 86.1% agreed that ABCS was valuable to their learning. Conclusions: The majority of students liked ABCS for convenience and promoting interaction with the instructor, some disliked it due to small screen and technical feasibility. Instructors planning to use ABCS in their course should balance its advantages with its disadvantages.