Kong, S.C., Ogata, H., Arnseth, H.C., Chan, C.K.K., Hirashima, T., Klett, F., Lee, J.H.M., Liu, C.C., Looi, C.K., Milrad, M., Mitrovic, A., Nakabayashi, K., Wong, S.L., Yang, S.J.H. (eds.) (2009). Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computers in Education [CDROM]. Hong Kong: Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education. 285 Scaffolding Collaboration in Simulated Medical Emergencies Jingyan LU a , Susanne P. LAJOIE, b , Jeffrey WISEMAN c a Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, b Dept. of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Canada c Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Canada jingyan@hkucc.hku.hk Abstract: Emergency medicine requires physicians to use their knowledge, experience and skills to diagnose life-threatening conditions under conditions of uncertainty. The “deteriorating patient” (DP) simulation was created as a role play activity integrating the cognitive and social dimensions of emergency medicine. This case study of classroom use of the DP simulation examines teacher scaffolding of collaborative problem solving under two conditions: with and without technological support. The teacher was found to use different strategies by playing different roles in different situations. Under the technological support condition the teacher broadened his support by creating scaffolding strategies based on what students recorded and shared while using technology. This investigation has implications for the design of computer-based learning environments to train medical decision-making. The diverse discourse functions and scaffolding strategies associated with the different roles can be used to design environments that are more authentic, compelling, and effective. Keywords: scaffolding, interactive whiteboards, medical education, problem based learning, collaborative learning Introduction Physicians confronting medical emergencies must make efficient use of their knowledge, experience and skills in dynamic situations. One way to prepare future physicians for such emergencies is to expose them to authentic patient cases in the context of problem based learning (PBL) (Barrow & Tamblyn, 1980). Recent efforts to expand the horizons of PBL have lead to a number of innovations one of which is the focus of this case study. This case study examines how one expert teacher/doctor has extended traditional text-based PBL into a simulation called the “deteriorating patient” (DP) (Wiseman & Snell, 2008) activity where he introduces the emotional stress of medical emergencies by simulating the deterioration of patients over short timeframes. Technology has traditionally been used in simulations to create a sense of realism and to provide physical records for debriefings (Issenberg, McGaghie, Petrusa, Gordon, & Scalese, 2005). However, few if any studies have focused on the potential of technology to help tutors provide additional scaffolding to learners as they work through simulations. Technology is introduced in this study to support collaborative problem solving in a manner that goes beyond teacher tutoring. Blending the use of teacher and computer scaffolds in response to Pea’s (2004) call for mixed designs for scaffolding learners, we examine how the teacher scaffolds students engaged in DP simulations under two conditions: one with technological support (Interactive Whiteboard) and the other without technological support (Traditional Whiteboard).