AIM To explore the application of cooperative situational teaching mode, a student-centered teaching method that involves learning through group collaboration and simulating real-life situations under the guidance of teachers for better understanding some important knowledge of pathophysiology, such as cardiac insufficiency and respiratory insufficiency.

METHOD Two problem based learning (PBL) cases of cardiac insufficiency and respiratory insufficiency were used as the content of the teaching reform for undergraduate students majoring in five-year-program clinical medicine. The students were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group. Through teacher guidance, the students simulated real-life case scenarios and related clinical manifestations, acted as doctors to make diagnosis and prescribe treatment and actively participated in the case learning process. Comprehensive evaluation and questionnaire survey were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the cooperative situational teaching mode.

RESULTS The average score of the students using cooperative situational teaching mode was significantly higher than that of the students using the traditional teaching mode. The cooperative situational teaching mode better enhanced the students’ learning interest and satisfaction.

CONCLUSION Collaborative situational teaching method is an effective teaching method for pathophysiology, which can improve students’ learning effectiveness and practical ability. For all the challenges, teaching and learning quality and effectiveness can be improved through flexible adjustments and improvements.