In collaborative problem solving (CPS), people's actions are interactive, interdependent, and temporal. However, it is unclear how actions temporally relate to each other and what are the temporal similarities and differences between successful vs. unsuccessful CPS processes. As such, we apply a temporal analysis approach, Multilevel Vector…

To be able to provide better support for collaborative learning in Intelligent Tutoring Systems, it is important to understand how collaboration patterns change. Prior work has looked at the interdependencies between utterances and the change of dialogue over time, but it has not addressed how dialogue changes during a lesson, an analysis that…

While collaborative Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) have been designed for older students and have been shown to support sense-making behaviors, there has not been as much work on creating systems to support collaboration between elementary school students. We have developed and tested, with 84 students, individual and collaborative versions…

Interactional communicative competence and higher-order thinking have been well documented as two of the biggest challenges for second/foreign language learners (EFL learners). This paper evaluates the use of digital tabletops as tools for problem-solving tasks in groups. The evaluation is based on a preliminary study of an application of the use…

A series of studies conducted to identify the factors that block and unblock problem solving is described. Through the construction of an isomorph of the classic "water jar" problems developed by A. S. Luchins (1942) as a dynamic graphic micro-world, several factors involved in producing blocked states were identified. Subjects included…

Frustration has been primarily investigated in relation to aggressive behaviors, but may elicit other behaviors depending on the responses available to the individual. To test the effects of task frustration and task success on subsequent group behavior, college women (N=80) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: task success, task…

A field study was conducted to examine the communication behaviors by which seven bank executives identified problems. Data on the subjects' communication behaviors were obtained through observations, the written documents pertaining to the identification of problems by the subjects, and postobservational surveys and interviews of the subjects.…

This paper is an account of the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the Decision-Proposal Modification Coding System (DPM), which allows researchers to study more accurately the many aspects of group decision making in organizations. Following an introduction that reviews and supports arguments for process-oriented research on decision…

Three instruments designed to evaluate the performance of work groups in organizations were analyzed with reference to a recently developed comprehensive model of the group problem solving process. Although each instrument measured nine or ten dimensions of group behavior, none of them measured more than seven of the 16 categories of variables…

The mathematical exercise of the the Prisoner's Dilemma is used to explore the issue of whether present models or paradigms of policy analysis cover the complete range of rational decision making. A review of the competing paradigms of the cybernetic concept, the analytic probability concept, and the cognitive categorization concept reveals…

Three group processes--regular face-to-face interacting groups, the nominal group technique (NGT), and Delphi procedures--were compared in terms of their ability to facilitate the quantitative and qualitative productivity of a decision making group. The results unequivocally supported the superiority of the Delphi procedures. Findings also tended…

Using a brief experiential group activity called "Choosing a Color Exercise" as an introductory measure, this paper explains the basics of group dynamics and reviews the major theoretical relationships between the group's structure, the dynamics of maintenance and task behaviors, and effective individual performances. The types of functional and…

Computer assisted instructional environments offer unique opportunities for the analysis of learning and problem solving processes. In this paper, partially automated techniques for process analysis are applied in a study of the problem solving strategies of a group of gifted students learning the Logo programming language. The objectives of the…

Examines users' cognitive, affective, and physical behaviors during user-Web interaction to understand better the nature of information retrieval on the Web, the needs of Web users, and the problem-solving strategies Web users employ. Describes and interprets searching behavior and problem-solving patterns within the relevant situational context…

Both popular and academic perceptions of conflict have been historically negative. Conflict, however, or the discrepancy between the demands of the environment and the demands of a living system, is common to individuals, groups, organizations and societies, and is part of the communication process by which living things interact with their…