Collaborative Problem Solving Education in Global Perspective: The Evidence from PISA

• Activity Number: 538 - SPEED: Predictive Analytics with Social/Behavioral Science Applications: Spatial Modeling, Education Assessment, Population Behavior, and the Use of Multiple Data Sources
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 1, 2018 : 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM
• Sponsor: Social Statistics Section
• Author(s): Mack Shelley* and Senay Purzer
• Companies: Iowa State University and Purdue University
• Keywords: Collaborative problem solving; Multi-level models; Cross-national comparisons; Secondary education; PISA; OECD

Abstract

Team-based aspects of solving problems are increasingly essential for global workforce development, economic growth, and human development. Education systems and educators need to be cognizant of the importance of enhancing problem solving skills among secondary school students, and new approaches to developing these essential skills must be considered. This paper addresses cross-national comparisons of students' achievements in collaborative problem solving using data from the 2015 wave of the Programme for International Student Assessment from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Multi-level models are employed to estimate the effects of student-level characteristics, school building- and school system-level variables, and national differences on student achievement in collaborative problem solving across 52 OECD and partner countries and economies that participated in the 2015 PISA assessment of collaborative problem solving. Results show, for example, that girls and students with higher mathematics or reading scores are significantly more successful in collaborative problem solving.