Stimulating COLLABORATIVE learning USing a wiki

Mary Dankbaar, Mathijs Doets* and Emely Spierenburg, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, THE NEHTERLANDS.

PURPOSE: To stimulate collaborative learning in the Erasmus University medical curriculum, we introduced a new group assignment. Challenges were the large number of students (350 in the third year), assessment and selecting a suitable tool to support the collaborative learning process.

METHODS: The group assignment (12 students) was to write a fictional clinical case in a wiki, a website which facilitates collaborative writing. Each group was coached by a clinical teacher, who met with the group and provided feedback. Students also had to give feedback on the cases of other groups. The teacher assessed both the quality of the clinical case and the collaborative learning process.

RESULTS: Evaluation showed that students were satisfied with the ease of use of the wiki software (spontaneously, students applied wikis in other settings) and the feedback from the teacher. However, they were critical on the assignment itself. The cases were too familiar and they found the group size too large. The teachers found the quality of the cases varying, sometimes large pieces were copied from other sources. There was limited collaboration within groups. A small subgroup constructed the case, other students contributed only comments.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS: For this year, the assignment will be used again, but it will be more extensive and structured, with different subtasks laid out. Also, students will have to assess each other’s contribution, putting more emphasis on the collaboration process. By introducing group assignments in other parts of the curriculum, we hope the students will get used to collaborating electronically.