Collaborative Problem-Solving with Logo: Effects of Group Size and Group Composition

This study investigated productivity in individuals versus groups of two or three as well as the interaction processes underlying differences between dyads and triads and differences between male, female or mixed groups learning LOGO on microcomputers. Thirty-six students aged ten learned LOGO individually or in groups of two or three for one session, had a practice session, then were required to produce a graphic in LOGO for the experimental session. No differences were found between individuals and groups, in terms of productivity. Group interaction (as measured by the Bales Interaction Process Analysis [1], was found to be similar in two and three person groups. However, significant ( p < .05) differences were observed among male, female, and mixed groups. The direction of these differences were as follows: males displayed more solidarity than females or mixed groups, the female group members were much more likely to express agreement with their peers than were members of the males group. There was also more asking of information in the male groups than the female groups. Finally, males expressed much more antagonism than females or mixed groups. These results are discussed in light of previous studies in this area.

Download Full-text

“Anything taking shape?” Capturing various layers of small group collaborative problem solving in an experiential geometry course in initial teacher education

Instructional Science ◽

10.1007/s11251-021-09562-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Johanna Pöysä-Tarhonen ◽

Päivi Häkkinen ◽

Pasi Tarhonen ◽

Piia Näykki ◽

Sanna Järvelä

Keyword(s):

Teacher Education ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Small Group ◽

Small Groups ◽

Process Analysis ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Initial Teacher Education ◽

Group Level ◽

Collaborative Problem

AbstractCollaborative problem solving (CPS) is widely recognized as a prominent 21st-century skill to be mastered. Until recently, research on CPS has often focused on problem solution by the individual; the interest in investigating how the theorized problem-solving constructs function as broader social units, such as pairs or small groups, is relatively recent. Capturing the complexity of CPS processes in group-level interaction is challenging. Therefore, a method of analysis capturing various layers of CPS was developed that aimed for a deeper understanding of CPS as a small-group enactment. In the study, small groups of teacher education students worked on two variations of open-ended CPS tasks—a technology-enhanced task and a task using physical objects. The method, relying on video data, encompassed triangulation of analysis methods and combined the following: (a) directed content analysis of the actualized CPS in groups, (b) process analysis and visualizations, and (c) qualitative cases. Content analysis did not show a large variation in how CPS was actualized in the groups or tasks for either case, whereas process analysis revealed both group- and task-related differences in accordance with the interchange of CPS elements. The qualitative cases exemplified the interaction diversity in the quality of coordination and students’ equal participation in groups. It was concluded that combining different methods gives access to various layers of CPS; moreover, it can contribute to a deeper articulation of the CPS as a group-level construct, providing divergent ways to understand CPS in this context.

Download Full-text

The pivotal role of monitoring for collaborative problem solving seen in interaction, performance, and interpersonal physiology

Metacognition and Learning ◽

10.1007/s11409-021-09279-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eetu Haataja ◽

Jonna Malmberg ◽

Muhterem Dindar ◽

Sanna Järvelä

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Electrodermal Activity ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Pivotal Role ◽

Collaborative Group ◽

Collaborative Task ◽

Collaborative Problem ◽

Group Members

AbstractBeing aware of the progress towards one’s goals is considered one of the main characteristics of the self-regulation process. This is also the case for collaborative problem solving, which invites group members to metacognitively monitor the progress with their goals and externalize it in social interactions while solving a problem. Monitoring challenges can activate group members to control the situation together, which can be seen as adjustments on different systemic levels (physiological, psychological, and interpersonal) of a collaborative group. This study examines how the pivotal role of monitoring for collaborative problem solving is reflected in interactions, performance, and interpersonal physiology. The study has foci in two central characteristics of monitoring interactions that facilitate groups’ regulation in reaching their goals. First is valence of monitoring, indicating whether the group members think they are progressing towards their goal or not. Second is equality of participation in monitoring interactions between group members. Participants of the study were volunteering higher education students (N = 57), randomly assigned to groups of three members whose collaborative task was to learn to run a business simulation. The collaborative task was video recorded, and the physiological arousal of each participant was recorded from their electrodermal activity. The results of the study suggest that both the valence and equality of participation are identifiable in monitoring interactions and they both positively predict groups’ performance in the task. Equality of participation to monitoring was not related to the interpersonal physiology. However, valence of monitoring was related to interpersonal physiology in terms of physiological synchrony and arousal. The findings support the view that characteristics of monitoring interactions make a difference to task performance in collaborative problem solving and that interpersonal physiology relates to these characteristics.

Download Full-text

Collaborative Learning and Assessment of Science

Optimizing STEM Education With Advanced ICTs and Simulations - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-2528-8.ch004 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 84-106

Author(s):

Yigal Rosen

Keyword(s):

Collaborative Learning ◽

Student Performance ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Assessment Task ◽

Collaborative Problem ◽

Assessment Tasks ◽

Potential Applications ◽

Group Members ◽

Computer Based

In order to understand potential applications of collaborative problem solving (CPS) assessment tasks, it is necessary to examine empirically the multi-faceted student performance that may be distributed across collaboration methods and purposes of the assessment. Ideally, each student should be matched with various types of group members and must apply the skills in varied contexts and tasks. One solution to these assessment demands is to use computer-based (virtual) agents to serve as the collaborators in the interactions with students. This paper proposes human-to-agent (H-A) approach for formative CPS assessment and describes an international pilot study aimed to provide preliminary empirical findings on the use of H-A CPS assessment to inform collaborative learning. Overall, the findings showed promise in terms of using H-A CPS assessment task as a formative tool for structuring effective groups in the context of CPS online learning.

Download Full-text

Collaborative reasoning in the context of group competition

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0246589 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. e0246589

Author(s):

Andreas Domberg ◽

Michael Tomasello ◽

Bahar Köymen

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

The Other ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Collaborative Reasoning ◽

Competitive Condition ◽

Communicative Acts ◽

Collaborative Problem ◽

Group Competition ◽

Group Members

A key skill in collaborative problem-solving is to communicate and evaluate reasons for proposals to arrive at the decision benefiting all group members. Although it is well-documented that collaborative contexts facilitate young children’s reasoning, less is known about whether competition with other groups contributes to children’s collaborative reasoning. We investigated whether between-group competition facilitates children’s within-group collaborative reasoning, regarding their production of reasons and their use of transacts, communicative acts that operate on one another’s proposals and reasoning. We presented 5- and 7-year-old peer dyads with two collaborative problem-solving tasks (decorating a zoo and a dollhouse). In one task, children competed against another group (the competitive condition); whereas in the other task, they did not (non-competitive condition). Our results suggest that children’s sensitivity to group competition as reflected in their reasoning changed depending on the task. When they decorated a house, they produced more transacts in the competitive condition than in the non-competitive condition; whereas when they decorated a zoo, this pattern was reversed. Thus, our results highlight that group competition did not influence children’s collaborative reasoning consistently across different contexts.

Download Full-text

Online and other ICT-based Assessment Tools for Problem-solving Skills

International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) ◽

10.3991/ijet.v11i04.5339 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (04) ◽

pp. 56 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Athanasios Drigas ◽

Maria Karyotaki

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Large Scale ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Future Research ◽

Problem Solving Skills ◽

Collaborative Problem ◽

Group Members

Problem-solving skills assessment starts with the imperative that the hypothesized construct of skills, is theoretically sound. Secondly, assessment refers to identifying and recording inductive and deductive types of reasoning as well as divergent and convergent thinking skills. The aforementioned procedures should be measured, independent of specific learning domains or knowledge backgrounds. Future research should be oriented towards the development of a prototype set of tasks that would embed problem-solving skills in different content and context areas and that would act as a model for implementation in online large-scale assessments. Furthermore, the classroom provides an environment amenable to collaborative problem solving, in which capturing the progress of students’ both social and cognitive processes through identifying the exchange of implicit and explicit types of information, remains to be sufficiently addressed. Effective collaborative problem-solving assessment is related to well-defined, real-world problems as well as to the provision of respective scaffolds to group members for developing their cognitive and meta-cognitive skills. In other words, effective collaborative problem-solving assessment should bring about and measure group members’ cognitive and meta-cognitive skills, evolving from the social regulation of processes, such as goal setting, connecting information and patterns as well as testing hypotheses.

Download Full-text

Collaborative Learning and Assessment of Science

Learning and Performance Assessment ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-0420-8.ch055 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1167-1184

Author(s):

Yigal Rosen

Keyword(s):

Collaborative Learning ◽

Student Performance ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Assessment Task ◽

Collaborative Problem ◽

Assessment Tasks ◽

Potential Applications ◽

Group Members ◽

Computer Based

Download Full-text

Computer Agent Technologies in Collaborative Learning and Assessment

Advanced Methodologies and Technologies in Modern Education Delivery - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-7365-4.ch019 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 229-238

Author(s):

Yigal Rosen

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Educational Systems ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Problem Solving Skills ◽

Computer Agent ◽

Collaborative Problem ◽

Scalable Learning ◽

Group Members ◽

Computer Based

In recognition of the importance of collaborative and problem-solving skills, educators are realizing the need for effective and scalable learning and assessment solutions to promote the skillset in educational systems. In the settings of a comprehensive collaborative problem-solving assessment, each student should be matched with various types of group members and must apply the skills in varied contexts and tasks. One solution to these assessment demands is to use computer-based (virtual) agents to serve as the collaborators in the interactions with students. The chapter presents the premises and challenges in the use of computer agents in the assessment of collaborative problem solving and describes how human and computer agent collaborative assessments are used in an international learning and assessment project, Animalia.

Download Full-text

Computer Agent Technologies in Collaborative Learning and Assessment

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Fourth Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-2255-3.ch209 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 2402-2410 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yigal Rosen

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Collaborative Problem Solving ◽

Educational Systems ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Problem Solving Skills ◽

Computer Agent ◽

Collaborative Problem ◽

Scalable Learning ◽

Group Members ◽

Computer Based

In recognition of the importance of collaborative and problem solving skills, educators are realizing the need for effective and scalable learning and assessment solutions to promote the skillset in educational systems. In the settings of a comprehensive collaborative problem solving assessment, each student should be matched with various types of group members and must apply the skills in varied contexts and tasks. One solution to these assessment demands is to use computer-based (virtual) agents to serve as the collaborators in the interactions with students. The chapter presents the premises and challenges in the use of computer agents in the assessment of collaborative problem solving and describes how human and computer agent collaborative assessments are used in international learning and assessment project Animalia.

Download Full-text