(42) Do Great Minds Think Alike? Leveraging Social Annotation to Promote Critical Thinking in Scientific Papers

Objective : To evaluate the effectiveness of implementing social annotation in pharmacy literature course readings to enhance pharmacy students' critical reading skills.

Methods: A survey-based study assessed student attitudes and perceptions regarding using social annotation in a second-year therapeutics course. Social annotation was implemented through Perusall to engage students with journal articles on infectious diseases. The survey measured student perceptions of the effectiveness of social annotation in improving critical literature appraisal skills.

Results: Analysis of survey responses revealed positive student attitudes towards using social annotation for enhancing critical reading skills, with 47% reporting they like social annotation (26% reporting ‘neutral’). Students reported an improved ability to critically evaluate literature, where survey results show a 23% increase in this confidence after social annotation; before using Perusall, 70% were confident in critical literature evaluation, and after reading the journal article with Perusall, students’ confidence was rated at 93%. 78% of students also feel more confident researching pharmacy topics to inform their expertise.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that incorporating social annotation into pharmacy literature courses effectively fills the gap in critical reading skills necessary for pharmacists. Social annotation fosters active and collaborative learning, improving student engagement, enhancing critical thinking abilities, and greater satisfaction with the learning process. These results underscore the importance of innovative approaches, such as social annotation, in promoting critical reading skills among pharmacy students.