Abstract:

Organic Chemistry is a fundamental subject included in the curricula of most Science Degrees and serves as one of the cornerstone courses in the Pharmacy Degree. It provides the necessary knowledge to understand other subjects such as Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Pharmacology. However, students often encounter difficulties in passing Organic Chemistry courses, which is typically accompanied by a decline in motivation throughout the course. To improve the quality of the teaching-learning process and enhance student motivation in this subject, teaching innovation projects have been developed over the past three years, involving significant changes in the teaching methodology for both theoretical and practical classes, as well as in the evaluation process.

The following actions were taken:
- Traditional lecture-based classes were replaced by Socratic maieutic-based classes.
- A gamified flipped classroom teaching methodology was employed in applied problem seminars.
- An Objective Structured Competency Evaluation (OSCE) was conducted, a practical evaluation to complement the assessment through written exams on theoretical and practical knowledge.

The Socratic methodology applied in theoretical classes had a significant impact by allowing students to achieve deep learning and reflect not only on the subject matter but also on their own learning process. This method has facilitated the development of general competencies in communication, critical analysis, and decision-making.

The gamified flipped classroom involved transforming traditional exercises into the creation of a board game by the students and dedicating Organic Chemistry problem-solving classes to addressing the challenges posed in the game. This approach fostered active participation, adherence to daily learning and study routines, and collaborative and cooperative work.

Finally, in the OSCE evaluations, students went through a series of experimental stations where they had to solve cases by applying experimental laboratory procedures related to organic chemistry research. This method significantly improved both the acquisition and evaluation of theoretical and practical competencies.

These three methodologies have been implemented over three academic years in first, second, and third-year subjects of organic Chemistry of the Pharmacy Degree. This year, the three methodologies have converged, demonstrating that their integration in a single subject is possible, and radically transforming the teaching-learning process to benefit the improvement of student motivation, deep learning, and competency-based assessment.

Keywords:

Gamification, Flipped Classroom, Competency evaluation, Educational Innovation, University Teaching, Student Motivation, Active Learning.