We have developed a structured course format for the first year cell biology course, with frequent group-based quizzes in class, a mid-term exam and a moderate-impact final exam. Compared to the classical course format, the overall course results are much better, but the final exam results increase only slightly. In this new study we show that about a quarter of students stop consulting learning materials in the period leading up to the final exam. This disengagement is not intentional, the students value the subject, they say they want to do well and they are aware of important cognitive skills.

Collaborative learning is powerful but also fragile, or "savage" as some students call it. Its pedagogical benefit relies entirely on constructive transactive dialogue; a conversation among group members that incites learning. But what leads students to participate in this dialogue, or, what conditions foster this dialogue?

Disappointing student achievements are strive in introductory courses at large open-enrolment universities. At least that is our experience in the first year. We have created a moderate structure Cell Biology course, with group-based activities, clicker-quizzes and more frequent in-course assessments, with the aim of reducing the mass experience and align teaching better with the secondary-school experience. The results are remarkably positive but…… the comprehensive final exam remains a destructive friction for a large subpopulation of students.

Working together, as a group, has important advantages over an individual approach. It provides an opportunity to lend each other the power of understanding, share burdens and uncertainties, learn from the skills of others, encourage and correct each other. If all goes well, there is also more room for a mastery approach and social recognition. How you can you foster a true collaborative attitude?

Collaborative learning is powerful but also fragile, or "savage" as some students call it. Its pedagogical benefit relies entirely on constructive transactive dialogue; a conversation among group members that incites learning. But what leads students to participate in this dialogue, or, what conditions foster this dialogue?