Cooperative learning: a new application of problem-based learning in mental health training

Abstract

Interaction in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials is not necessarily cooperative, which may account for variation in learning outcomes. Therefore, a cooperative assessment structure was introduced in a PBL course and the difference examined between this method and individual, lecture-based learning in mental health training. Experimental student groups gained more knowledge between pre- and post-test than did control groups, and the experimental students who scored low on the pre-test made the greatest gains. Groups that reported greater cooperation tended to have higher achievement scores. Experimental students felt that cooperation helped them learn but it also took more time and was sometimes chaotic.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

S¸evkat Bahar-Özvaris¸

Ş. BAHAR-ÖZVARIŞ, MD MA, is a professor of Public Health and an assistant coordinator of the undergraduate curriculum, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine. In 2003, she was the recipient of an ECFMG/FAIMER (Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research) fellowship in medical education at Harvard Medical School.

Füsun Çuhadaroğlu Çetin

F. ÇUHADAROĞLU ÇETIN, MD, is a professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and academic staff in Medical Education, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine. She was the recipient of a research fellowship under Fogarty International Center (FIC) Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (MH/DD) Program (PI: K. Munir) at Children's Hospital, Boston in 2002.

Sevgi Turan

S. TURAN, MSc, is a research assistant in Medical Education, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine.

Antoinette S. Peters

A.S. PETERS, PhD, is an associate director of the Academy Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard Medical School, and an assistant professor of Ambulatory Care & Prevention, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Harvard Medical School. She served as mentor to Dr Bahar-Ozvaris during her ECFMG/FAIMER fellowship at Harvard Medical School, and has consulted on the design and procedure of the project.