#539: Shifting from Cooperation to Collaboration: A Case Study of Medical Students' Collaborative Learning Experiences

This study investigates barriers to collaborative learning among medical students in a medical humanities course. Data were collected from 74 second-year medical students in Taiwan, with 23 having received collaboration training. Using grounded theory, we analyzed online discussions, learning portfolios, and interviews. Findings reveal distinct patterns in discussion timing, interaction dynamics, and outcomes between trained and untrained groups. Students' prior success with division-of-labor approaches emerges as an inhibitor to collaborative learning adoption. Notably, consistent implementation of assessment criteria becomes the critical catalyst for shifting students from cooperation to collaboration. This research deepens understanding: learning outcomes alone cannot reveal learning processes; learners' agency must be reconceptualized; curriculum, activities, materials, and assessment require structurally transparent integration.