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Chapter 13
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-9441-5.ch013
A Tough Nut to Crack:
Measuring Collaborative Problem Solving
ABSTRACT
The purpose of our project is to explore the measurement of cognitive skills in the domain of science
through collaborative problem solving tasks, measure the collaborative skills, and gauge the potential
feasibility of using game-like environments with avatar representation for the purposes of assessing the
relevant skills. We are comparing students’ performance in two conditions. In one condition, students
work individually with two virtual agents in a game-like task. In the second condition, dyads of students
workcollaborativelywithtwovirtualagentsinthesimilargame-liketaskthroughachatbox.Ourresearch
is motivated by the distributed nature of cognition, extant research on computer-supported collaborative
learning (CSCL) which has shown great value of collaborative activities for learning, and the framework
for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) framework. This chapter focuses on the
development and implementation of a conceptual model to measure individuals’ cognitive and social
skills through collaborative activities.
INTRODUCTION
Emerging conceptions of learning reveal that
learning is not only a cognitive, but also a social
and constructive process (Salomon & Perkins,
1998). Cognitive and social approaches to sci-
ence learning have highlighted the importance
of discussion for helping students solve problems
and achieve understanding. As a result, there is
an urgent call for assessments to measure indi-
vidual skills in collaborative settings. The field
of computer-supported collaborative learning
(CSCL) research deals with issues concerning
collaboration, learning processes, and the use of
Lei Liu
Educational Testing Service, USA
Jiangang Hao
Educational Testing Service, USA
Alina A. von Davier
Educational Testing Service, USA
Patrick Kyllonen
Educational Testing Service, USA
Diego Zapata-Rivera
Educational Testing Service, USA

2. 345
A Tough Nut to Crack
computers by providing a technology-enhanced
environment where students work on group tasks
and produce a collective product or response, but
the assessment component does not account for
the rich interactions among the team members
when evaluating students’ problem solving skills.
In other words, most CSCL research focuses on
exploringtheimportantimpactofcollaborationon
learning, however there is little research on how
to fuse the quality of the process of collaborative
problem solving with the outcome of problem
solving in assessment. The purpose of our project
is to explore the measurement of cognitive skills
in the domain of science through collaborative
problem solving tasks, measure the collaborative
skills, and gauge the potential feasibility of using
game-likeenvironmentswithavatarrepresentation
for the purposes of assessing the relevant skills.
In other words, our research examines whether
the nature and quality of students’ collaboration
affects their cognitive understanding of scientific
phenomena and their ability to solve meaningful
science problems. We are comparing students’
performance in two conditions. In one condition,
studentsworkindividuallywithtwovirtualagents
inagame-liketask.Inthesecondcondition,dyads
of students work collaboratively with two virtual
agentsinthesimilargame-liketaskthroughachat
box. Our research is motivated by the distributed
nature of cognition and extant CSCL research
which has shown great value of collaborative
activitiesforlearningandbytheProgrammeforIn-
ternationalStudentAssessment(PISA)framework
forcollaboration(CollaborativeProblemSolving
Framework,Graesser&Foltz,2013).Thischapter
focuses on the development and implementation
of a conceptual model to measure individuals’
cognitive and social skills through collaborative
activities. The overall hypothesis of the study is
that providing collaboration opportunities may
promote greater integration of knowledge, thus
result in better student performances in an as-
sessment.
COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM
SOLVING SKILLS FRAMEWORK
Collaborative Interactions
and Cognition
Collaborativelearningtechniqueshavebeenused
extensively by educators at all levels as research
suggests that active student participation in the
small-group interactions is critical to effective
learning (Chinn, O’Donnell, & Jinks, 2000). The
CSCL research in educational settings has not
becomeprominentuntilsomewhatmorerecently,
and this has been partially intertwined with the
widespread use of educational technology in the
classroom (see Hmelo-Silver, Chinn, Chan, &
O’Donnell, 2013). Within the domain of educa-
tional assessment, there has been a strong recent
interest in the evaluation of CPS as a social skill
(Griffin, Care, & McGaw, 2012; Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development
[OECD],2013;vonDavier&Halpin,2013).How-
ever, social skills are not sufficient to define CPS,
which also includes other essential components
identified by collaborative learning research as
key to knowledge construction such as establish-
ing shared goals, accommodation of alternative
perspectives to converge ideas, and regulative
attempts to achieve goals. In our CPS assessment
design, we realize the importance of measuring
boththesocialandcognitiveaspectsofknowledge
and skills that affect student performance when
taking an assessment in a collaborative setting.
A key question that has driven CSCL research
is:Howdolearnersdevelopsharedunderstanding
ofthetasktobeaccomplished,aquestionrelatedto
theprocessofknowledgeco-construction.Knowl-
edge co-construction, sometimes called shared
cognition (Hatano & Inagaki, 1991; Wertsch,
1991)orconvergentconceptualchange(Roschelle,
1996) or the construction of joint problem space
(Hmelo-Silver, Nagarajan, & Day, 2000; Ros-
chelle, 1996), refers to the shared representation

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