Classroom engagement through short stories and motivational messages

Objective: The objective of this study is to introduce short stories and motivational messages on soft skills in pharmacy didactic courses to improve classroom engagement.Methods: Surveys were then conducted on the impact of students’ understanding of soft skills and their impact on classroom engagement. Results: The survey results from the two classes (2022 and 2023) of first year students showed that they gained an understanding of soft skills appropriately. The strategy also improved their classroom engagement and well-being. A further survey from a class of 2023 third year students indicated the strategy continued to be helpful in subsequent years. The results from students’ feedback also showed that students generally appreciated the strategy, and it helped them stay positive and engaged in the classroom. Conclusion: Overall, the study concluded that this unique delivery of soft skill information helped students in classroom engagement and helped them learn various soft skill sets.