Magically-Enhanced Courses Officially Incorporated Into The University Curriculum
24/03/2009

A leading Scottish university has incorporated Aberdeen-based magicians and presenters Fifth Dimension into one of its student curriculums.

Robert Gordon University has embedded the innovative learning techniques of Fifth Dimension into the First Year of its School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences where the communications company has conducted a series of successful workshops.

Energised and motivated
Ivor Smith, of Fifth Dimension, comments, "It is a great complement and a fantastic opportunity to have our work officially integrated with the pharmacy students at Robert Gordon's University where we enjoy working with the students and helping them develop their communication skills.

"Through our workshop, The Inspiration Game, we aim to provide an exciting approach for higher education learning by making the sessions fun, interactive and humorous. We believe that by engaging your audience, the key messages are more likely to be remembered and students leave feeling both energised and motivated."

Communication and teamwork
With community pharmacists playing a greater public health role than ever before, communication and teamwork skills have become an increasingly important part of the job. For many pharmacy students, however, their experience of communicating in the wider world can be limited.

But by using magically enhanced training and creative challenges through its Inspiration Game workshop, Fifth Dimension helps the students with team working and building friendships with fellow students as they prepare to embark on a joint project.

Partnership working
Dr Lorna McHattie, lecturer at RGUs School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, says, "Communication skills are required for partnership working and as a core competence for the Community Pharmacy Contract. Feedback from student evaluation forms in past years had reported that students experienced difficulty in group-working, especially when there was the added pressure of assessment.

"The training session Fifth Dimension presented at the beginning of the term investigated the effect of a highly-interactive training workshop. Following the workshop, students reported a very positive response on the effect of the session for their ability to work in a team.

Embedded into the first year curriculum
"It has subsequently been formally embedded into the first year curriculum and is now considered as an essential part of the learning experience for all undergraduate pharmacy students."

Dr McHattie continues, "Fifth Dimension's Inspiration Game enhances the interpersonal communications skills for effective team working in undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students. It also helps them develop an awareness of the knowledge, attitudes and skills required for effective team working which can be applied to higher education and beyond.

"As community pharmacists are increasingly taking on a public health role, effective communication and team working is becoming more important. But it not just preparing for pharmacy life that Fifth Dimension can have a positive impact on. The company's innovative training methods can be adapted to help improve the communication skills of any student and also teachers."


<< Back