A bit more information

Teaching Pharmacology to dental hygiene students can be challenging. Dense content, complex drug mechanisms, and limited prior exposure often lead to cognitive overload and disengagement. This interactive session equips educators with strategies to transform Pharmacology into a dynamic, student-centered learning experience. Participants will explore how tools such as Quizlet Live, Jeopardy-style review games, matching activities, and “speeddating” rotations can be intentionally integrated as formative assessments to reinforce understanding, promote critical thinking, and boost longterm retention. Through demonstrations, practical examples, and shared best practices, attendees will leave with ready-to-implement ideas to make Pharmacology not only approachable but enjoyable for today’s learners.

Objectives:

• Identify common learning challenges dental hygiene students face in Pharmacology and describe how active learning can improve comprehension and retention.
• Demonstrate how to integrate interactive tools, including Quizlet Live, Jeopardylabs, matching activities, and speeddating stations, into Pharmacology teaching to enhance student engagement.
• Develop a plan to implement these tools within their own courses or programs.

Educators Platform Masterminds are dynamic two-hour virtual sessions building on each other’s challenges, ideas and successes in the presence of a content expert. Mastermind sessions are thoughtfully facilitated to create an environment for like-minded colleagues to share and learn from one another with the goal of collective professional growth and development. Sessions are uniquely tailored to the needs of participants. Those attending will have the opportunity to create strong connections with other participants to last a whole career.

More about our content expert:

Dr. Khairunisa (Nisa) Hashmani is an Associate Professor at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry and an accomplished dental hygiene educator with more than a decade of teaching experience. She has taught Pharmacology, Community Health, Theory, and Clinical Practice, and has served as a first-year clinic coordinator for five years. Throughout her career, Dr. Hashmani has designed dynamic, student-centered learning environments that promote engagement, critical thinking, and long-term retention.

Dr. Hashmani incorporates an array of interactive strategies in her teaching, including Quizlet Live, Jeopardy-based assessments, Padlet, multimedia videos, virtual reality, matching exercises, and Nearpod, cultivating active engagement and reinforcing long- term retention. Her teaching focuses on using formative assessment to promote critical thinking, build student confidence, and make complex concepts accessible and memorable.

A recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the 2024 Procter & Gamble Teaching Excellence Award and the 2025 Dean’s Excellence Award in Teaching, she is nationally recognized for her work in active learning, OSCEs, and innovative assessment strategies. Dr. Hashmani continues to present at ADHA, ADEA, and other national platforms on creating engaging, learner-centered instruction in the health sciences.

Attendees of Educators Platform Mastermind sessions will earn 2 CEU in Educational Methods.