Evaluating the Learning Effectiveness of Collaborative Problem Solving in Computer-Mediated Settings

Exploitation And Theoretical Issues Of Problem Solving Learning Communities

Collaborative problem solving has been variably exploited in schools from the first grades and in all disciplines. A great number of projects have been funded in order to explore collaborative problem solving as it is considered as a special style of teaching and learning (Johnston et al., 2000). The first and most cited project is the Jasper Project: an anchored instruction of mathematical problem solving that was developed by the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV, 1997). According to this project solvers explore and model a problem space involving mathematical problems for extended periods of time and from a diversity of perspectives; the problem spaces offer opportunities for cooperative learning and discussion in small groups, as well as for individual and whole-class problem solving. Another well-known project that was developed by the University of Pittsburgh (1998) is the Belvedere approach (http://hci.ece.upatras.gr/synergo/synergo.php) to represent flowcharts for collaborative exploitation and building of algorithms. These are some of the examples of exploiting collaborative problem solving into school settings for educational purposes.