Abstract:

Introduction:
Collaboration and group work are strongly advocated in medical and Higher Education, for enhancing learning outcomes as well as fostering independent learning, teamwork and communication skills. However, there remains a paucity of research on teamwork conducted on an international level. This article presents an evaluation of international student collaboration in online group work via analysis of score distributions from a peer assessment study.

Methods:
The investigation was part of the International Collaboration and Exchange Program, a year-long global virtual networking program organized by Columbia University involving medical, dental and health profession students from 24 leading universities worldwide. Students, divided into small groups, were asked to rate their peers based on levels of engagement in program group activities. Scores for each student were then calculated using the Individual Peer Assessment of Contribution to group work (IPAC) methodology, a form of assessment that evaluates individual contribution through peer feedback to enhance fairness in marking for group work. Score distributions were analyzed to study how group cohesiveness and individual contribution levels change over time, and to determine if these changes are influenced by group size. Calculations were performed using the IPAC software developed by University College London, and statistical analysis was done in Excel.

Results:
Data was collected in two rounds of group work during the program: the first round in December 2021 (n=244 responses), and the second in March 2022 (n=154 responses). Our results indicate that overall group cohesiveness remained high throughout the program despite differences in cultural and educational backgrounds, language barriers and lack of face-to-face communication. However, disparities in individual contribution levels between peers were found to be greater compared to cohorts in previous literature. In addition, the study reveals that an increase in group size is linked to a rise in both group cohesiveness and equality in contribution levels over time.

Discussion:
In view of the ever-increasing importance of global collaboration in healthcare, these findings provide an important insight for future research on student group dynamics in international collaboration and training settings.

Keywords:

Collaboration, group work, international, higher education, medical, cohesiveness, peer assessment, feedback, individual, contribution, fairness, equality.