The key concept lies within the working with interests in collaborative problem solving which refers to the critical competency for college and career readiness. Students are expected to understand and develop the idea that there are more one ways to solve any kind of problems. The main challenge lies in organizing computer based assessment of CPS skills when it’s about a large assessment program where an individual is expected to match and collaborate with different types of other members representing different CPS skills and contexts. The terms collaborative problem solving, cooperative work, and group work are used interchangeably in the current education research literature to mean similar constructs.
Here problems are identified first and the tasks are developed accordingly. It is mixture of collaboration: “coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem” (Roschelle, &Teasley, 1995, p. 70); and problem solving: “cognitive processing directed at achieving a goal when no solution method is obvious to the problem solver” (Mayer, & Wittrock, 1996). According to Griffin, Care, and McGaw (2012), it focuses each other’s point of view regarding some particular problem and concern. It helps to establish others’ responses in a group in terms of contributing knowledge, experience and expertise in a constructive way with constructive feedback and results. In Program for International Student Assessment PISA 2015, CPS competency is defined as the ability to identify and involve in a particular problem solving process with the collaborative effort along with the help of the agent for establishing an effective solution. The competency depends on how well the individual collaborates with agents (either a human or a computer) during the process which includes shared understanding, taking effective actions to resolve the problem, and also establishing and maintaining group organization.
The learner’s role is significant here which includes:
a. They should be aware of the specific kind of activities needed to identify and solve the problem.
b. They should be clear in understanding their roles as one of the group members and even as an individual along with the agent’s role focusing on the reflection regarding the valuable concerns of conflicts and obstacles.
