Collaborative learning is acknowledged as an important skill in both higher education and modern society. However, there are many challenges when designing and implementing collaborative learning and many studies report that college students are often frustrated when placed in such situations. Despite the fact that the literature has a wide range of recommended strategies to ameliorate students' negative experiences in group work, it is impossible to make every collaborative learning experience positive for all students. Therefore, it is important to understand college students' perspectives on the frustrations they experience in collaborative group work and provide opportunities for students to have open discussions about their frustrations. The intent of these discussions is to help students to reconcile these frustrations and help them establish positive internal norms and expectations for future collaborative learning activities. The goal of this research study is to reveal students' perspectives on various sources of frustrations in group learning and investigate how these frustrations might be addressed through scaffolded group discussions. Chapter two provides a historical review of collaborative learning and cooperative learning, including their definitions, characteristics, development, and research paradigms. Chapter three reports on the development of five learner personas created using Q methodology. These personas are intended as a resource for faculty and instructional designers who wish to create positive collaborative learning experiences for students. Chapter four reports on a research study that examined the phenomenon of frustrations in collaboration under a framework of hermeneutic phenomenology. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]