Pair interactions in online assessments of collaborative problem solving: case-based portraits

Abstract

This exploratory case study focuses on how pairs of students can build a shared understanding and acquire collaborative problem-solving (CPS) practices during an online assessment of CPS skills, which is seen in the context of the CPS construct, in a symmetrical and asymmetrical task type. Even though CPS is widely recognised as a core twenty-first-century competency, its nature is not yet well understood. Also, until recently, most of studies have focused on the individual's solution to a problem or on the skills individuals bring into a problem-solving space. This study extends from an individual-to group-level focus in CPS, emphasising the role and quality of the social aspects in CPS processes and outcomes. Focusing on the group level because it mediates multiple levels of learning, including individual cognition and socio-cultural practices, may provide us with a better understanding of how pairs establish CPS practices. Because of the complexity of CPS and the general challenges of remote collaboration in an online context, the study relies on the triangulation of multiple data sources and phases of analysis. In this paper, the aim is to explore and visualise through contrasting case-based portraits of two pairs how micro-interaction processes evolve at the pair level. The results show that despite students' similar CPS performance outcome scores and task designs aimed to facilitate collaboration, variations in micro-interactions occur across pairs, for example as individual and joint solution endeavours and as balanced and unbalanced dynamics of group interactions. Studying these patterns at the pair level may provide new insights into CPS and support strategies for acquiring these practices.

A case study of student development across project-based learning units in middle school chemistry

“…Collaboration in PBL is not ordinary cooperation, rather, it is reflected in the process of solving problems. The Assessment and Teaching of twenty-first Century Skills (ATC21S) project (Griffin et al, 2012) defined ways of measuring individual person skills in collaborative problem solving (CPS) and has been cited by many studies in the field of education (Camacho-Morles, Slemp, Oades, Morrish, & Scoular, 2019;Dieu et al, 2018;Pöysä-Tarhonen et al, 2018). One of the evaluation dimension of CPS is collaboration, which is consistent with collaboration in PBL.…”

Advancing the Science of Collaborative Problem Solving

“…Aside from the dimension of teaching and learning CPS skills, the ATC21S framework appears to be more ecologically valid for several reasons: (a) Interactions between real humans are realized through computer-mediated communication; (b) the differential status of team members could be seen as more authentic and related to real life; (c) the problem-solving and interaction processes are less scripted, and the set of predefined messages and actions is not limited; (d) a large range of individual variables and social processes can be studied, such as emotions and microinteractions; and (e) group-level outcomes are measureable (Care & Griffin, 2017; Care & Kim, 2018; Pöysä-Tarhonen, Care, Awwal, & Häkkinen, 2018; Scoular et al, 2017) as opposed to being limited to the responses of a single test taker with a constellation of computer agents.…”

Are Self-Efficacy Gains of University Students in Adapted Physical Activity Influenced by Online Teaching Derived From the COVID-19 Pandemic?

“…Additionally, all the group members were requested to participate on an equal basis during the explanation of the task as well as the discussion. Second, the cooperation component was also covered through the abovementioned assignment (25% of the total score of the course), requiring collaborative problem-solving (Pöysä-Tarhonen et al, 2018). Besides, the time for this task was increased by 25% of the original time for more profound interactions with the professor.…”