Background: Keeping up with the dynamic science of medicine requires training learners who have the skills needed for continuous learning. Among the basic courses, mastering anatomy requires a precise understanding and memorization of the three-dimensional relationships of body structures, which requires significant effort from students. Failure to master and maintain an accurate mental model of these concepts can lead to poor clinical and academic performance. Therefore, it is necessary to address the topic of metacognition or "active learning how to learn" and the factors effective in strengthening it. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between modeling activity and metacognitive approaches in medical emergency students.

Methods: In this qualitative study, 12 first-year emergency medicine students of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences completed a skill training course using the modeling approach with dough, and their experiences were collected in the form of a semi-structured group interview until reaching the saturation stage. And after it was written, it was analyzed by qualitative content analysis method.

Results: From the data analysis, after coding the content of the interviews, two themes including active learning and self-aware learning as well as 5 categories including enjoyable learning, peer learning, self-awareness, applied learning and deep learning were obtained. Then under the subclasses including Willingness to learn, understanding the importance of working group, understanding one's own learning level, understanding the application of knowledge, understanding the content with mental imagery and mental permanence have been extracted.

Conclusion: The findings of this study show that the modeling process leads to the formation of active learning and is considered a valuable learning tool. This approach employs multidimensional learning that is useful for long-term retention of knowledgeand fosters metacognitive approach.