Spontaneous Collaborative Learning: A New Dimension in Student Learning Experience?

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Abstract
‐ Many studies have reported positive effects of cooperative learning methods on student achievement. In all such cases, cooperative learning experiences were initiated and structured by teachers, and designed according to special task and reward structures. The present study discusses a different kind of cooperative learning, Spontaneous Collaborative Learning (SCOLL), which is not structured by the teachers, but is student‐initiated. The characteristics of such a learning experience are described, and its effects on the learning strategies adopted by students, the quality of the students’ learning outcomes are examined. Quantitative and qualitative data from 39 Hong Kong tertiary (physiotherapy) students showed that SCOLL, as compared to individual preparation, promoted the engagement of a deep approach incorporating high level cognitive strategies, and in turn learning outcomes reflected in a higher structural complexity of assignments than those approaches and outcomes of students who worked individually.