Publication: ASSESSING METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS INVENTORY (MAI) IMPROVEMENT IN THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER OF PHARMACY
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Date
2025-04-17
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Abstract
Abstract
Background:
Increased metacognitive awareness is linked to success in doctoral level programs. Some doctoral programs in medicine and pharmacy have researched specific metacognitive awareness activities. However, none have evaluated metacognitive awareness, as a whole, in pharmacy students. Recognizing the struggle transitioning from undergraduate coursework to professional Doctor of Pharmacy coursework, we aimed to understand metacognitive awareness changes for pharmacy students during the first professional semester.
Method:
First professional year pharmacy students were given a National Institute of Health approved 52-question Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) survey during orientation week at Husson University School of Pharmacy. In the MAI survey, one point is given for answering “yes” to each question. Students repeated the survey during the final week of their first semester in the Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Results:
Twenty students completed both the pre- and post-semester surveys. Overall, mean MAI scores increased by 5 points (38 to 43). The following domains saw increases in score over the study period: Declarative Knowledge (+0.3; 6 to 6.3), Procedural Knowledge (+0.3; 3.2 to 3.5), Conditional Knowledge (+0.7; 3.9 to 4.6), Information Management (+0.8; 7.1 to 7.9), Comprehension Monitoring (+0.6; 5 to 5.6), and Evaluation (+0.5; 3 to 3.5). Planning (-0.35; 4.95 to 4.6) and Debugging Strategies (-0.18; 4.58 to 4.4) were the only domains that saw a decrease in score over the study period.
Conclusion:
MAI scores changed as a whole and within each domain. Data collected from this study can be used to inform future metacognitive research for pharmacy students entering the doctoral phase of their programs.