Kanthan Rani, Mills Sheryl
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
World J Surg Oncol. 2007 Nov 28;5:136. doi: 10.1186/1477-7819-5-136.
Despite extensive research data indicating that cooperative learning promotes higher achievement, the creation of positive relationships, and greater psychological health for students at all levels in their education, cooperative learning as a teaching strategy is still underutilized in undergraduate medical education.
A cooperative learning task was introduced as part of the mandatory first Year undergraduate Pathology course. The task was to create an 8.5" x 11" poster summary of pre-assigned content in self-chosen groups of four or five students. On the designated "Poster Day," the posters were displayed and evaluated by the students using a group product evaluation. Students also completed an individual group process reflection survey. An objective evaluation of their understanding was gauged at the midterm examination by specific content-related questions.
Majority (91-96%) of students judged the group products to be relevant, effective, easy-to-understand, and clearly communicated. The majority of the students (90-100%) agreed that their group process skills of time management, task collaboration, decision-making and task execution were effective in completing this exercise. This activity created a dynamic learning environment as was reflected in the students' positive, professional discussion, and evaluation of their posters. The content-related questions on the midterm examination were answered correctly by 70-92% of the students. This was a mutually enriching experience for the instructor and students.
These findings demonstrate that cooperative learning as a teaching strategy can be effectively incorporated to address both content and interpersonal skill development in the early years of undergraduate medical education.
尽管大量研究数据表明合作学习能促进各教育阶段学生取得更高成就、建立积极人际关系并提升心理健康，但合作学习作为一种教学策略在本科医学教育中仍未得到充分利用。
在本科病理学必修的第一年课程中引入了一项合作学习任务。该任务是让学生自行选择四到五人的小组，为预先分配的内容制作一张8.5英寸×11英寸的海报总结。在指定的“海报日”，展示海报并由学生使用小组作品评估表进行评估。学生们还完成了一份个人小组过程反思调查问卷。在期中考试中，通过与特定内容相关的问题对他们的理解进行客观评估。
大多数（91%-96%）学生认为小组作品相关、有效、易于理解且沟通清晰。大多数学生（90%-100%）同意他们在时间管理、任务协作、决策和任务执行方面的小组过程技能在完成这项练习时是有效的。这项活动营造了一个充满活力的学习环境，这体现在学生们对海报进行积极、专业的讨论和评估中。期中考试中与内容相关的问题，70%-92%的学生回答正确。这对教师和学生来说是一次相互充实的经历。
这些发现表明，合作学习作为一种教学策略可以有效地融入本科医学教育早期阶段，以兼顾内容学习和人际交往技能的发展。
