Fig. 1

Overview of the independent variables for the different study groups. In summary, 196 medical students from Ulm University participated in this study. The study was carried out in the second semester in a pre-clinical biochemistry seminar. Yellow: students in the basic group (n = 42) received an information e-mail in which they were told to watch three videos until on-site phase 1 (working sheet basic group). For self-study phase 2, students in the basic group were told to watch two videos. They were neither instructed to form learning dyads, nor did they receive any comprehension questions. Blue: 76 students were in the individual group. After an information e-mail, they started with an on-site phase 0. They received instructions and a working sheet (working sheet individual group) for self-study phase 1. Most importantly, they were told to prepare alone in self-study phase 1. Self-study phase 1 was characterized by watching videos and dealing with comprehension questions as provided in the study material. Self-study phase 2 was similar to self-study phase 1. Red: 78 students were in the collaborative group. The study procedure for the collaborative group was the same as that of the individual group, except they were told to prepare in learning dyads during the self-study phases