Arslan Azad

Student ability to succeed in collaborative problem solving (CPS) is increasingly important. However, identifying aspects of CPS that individuals can act on to improve it remains a challenge. This study explores listening behaviour as a lever for effective CPS, given that listening is at once cognitive and social, and that individuals can enact it. Despite its importance in communication, listening is rarely systematically examined in CPS. To address this gap, we propose a framework for identifying listening behaviours in the text of student exchanges, and apply it to analyse patterns of listening behaviours of 34 K-12 students aged 11-14, working in nine groups on CPS activities. By combining content analysis, k-means cluster analysis, and correlation-based coupling network analysis, we identify ten distinct patterns of listening behaviours and their coupling over time, across groups with different success outcomes. We found that listening patterns varied by performance, under the assumption of moderate temporal dependence among interaction segments. Higher performing groups engaged in more counterarguments and constructive listening. Groups with lower CPS successes exhibited two ineffective patterns: questioning with instrumental listening, and counterarguments and questioning without encouraging listening. These findings pose questions about the relationship between listening and learning processes and have implications for multimodal research in learning analytics.

Complex problem solving (CPS) is a critical skill with far-reaching implications for personal success and professional development. While CPS research has made extensive progress, additional investigation is needed to explore CPS processes beyond online contexts and performance outcomes. This study, conducted with Year 9 students aged between thirteen and fourteen, focuses on collaborative CPS. It utilises audio and video recordings to capture group communications during a CPS classroom activity. To analyse these interactions, we introduce a novel CPS framework as a dynamic, cognitive and social process involving interrelated main skills, sub-skills, and indicators. Through sequential pattern mining, we identify recurring subskill patterns that reflect CPS processes in an educational environment. Our research underscores the importance of employing diverse patterns before plan execution, particularly building shared knowledge, planning, and negotiation. We uncover patterns related to groups going off-task and highlight the significance of effective communication and maintaining focus for keeping groups on track. Furthermore, we indicate patterns following the detection of emergent issues, recognising the value of cultivating clarity and adaptability among team members. Our CPS framework, combined with our research results, offers practical implications for teaching, learning, and assessment approaches in educational, professional and industry sectors.