Conceptualization and Quantification of Thinking Sustainability in Dialogic Collaborative Problem Solving

Abstract

Dialogic collaborative problem solving describes how students solve a problem collaboratively, mainly or wholly through academically productive talk. Peer talk could manifest the trajectory of group thinking. Existing studies intensively explored potential talk moves that could facilitate effective collaboration. Yet, very few studies explored in-depth move-taking sequences that indicated sustained group thinking trajectory. To help address this gap, the present study conceptualized thinking sustainability to characterize the co-constructiveness of individuals’ thinking and quantified it as an index on the interdependence of productive talk moves taken by individuals. The study further demonstrated how thinking sustainability dynamically developed in collaborative mathematical problem solving by 30 four-person groups in primary schools. Results showed that each group engaged in productive talk for around 3.85 consecutive turns. There was no significant correlation between thinking sustainability and group outcomes. Thinking sustainability was sensitive to early exchanges in peer talk and reached a stable level quite soon. This demonstrated it as another possible fixed-point attractor underlying random-looking peer interaction systems.