2. Collaborative problem-solving skills vary across countries,
and are not an automatic by product of disciplinary knowledge
Individual skills explain less than two-thirds of the variation in student
performance on the PISA collaborative problem-solving scale; and only three
quarters of the performance differences among countries on this measure are
explained by the relative standing of countries on the 2012 PISA assessment of
individual problem-solving skills.
3. Singapore
Japan
Hong Kong
(China)Korea
EstoniaCanada FinlandMacao (China)
New Zealand Australia
Chinese Taipei Germany
United StatesDenmark United Kingdom
Netherlands
Sweden Austria
Norway Slovenia Belgium
Czech RepublicIceland PortugalB-S-J-G (China) Spain
France Luxembourg
Latvia
Italy
CroatiaRussia Hungary
Israel Lithuania
Slovak Republic
GreeceChile
Bulgaria
Uruguay Costa Rica
Thailand United Arab
Emirates
Mexico
Colombia
Turkey
Peru
MontenegroBrazil
Tunisia380
400
420
440
460
480
500
520
540
560
Mean score
Figure V.3.3
Mean performance on the PISA
collaborative problem-solving scale
PISA 2015 defines collaborative
problem-solving competency as
the capacity of an individual to
effectively engage in a process
whereby two or more agents
attempt to solve a problem by
sharing the understanding and
effort required to come to a
solution and pooling their
knowledge, skills and efforts to
reach that solution.
5. All countries can make headway
The share of top performers is limited
6. Percentage of low-achieving students and top performers in
collaborative problem solving
Table V.3.1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Singapore
NewZealand
Canada
Australia
Finland
Japan
UnitedStates
HongKong(China)
Germany
Estonia
UnitedKingdom
Macao(China)
Korea
Netherlands
ChineseTaipei
Sweden
Austria
Denmark
OECDaverage
Belgium
Norway
Luxembourg
France
Iceland
B-S-J-G(China)
Slovenia
Israel
CzechRepublic
Portugal
Spain
Italy
Latvia
Russia
Hungary
SlovakRepublic
Lithuania
Croatia
Bulgaria
Greece
UnitedArabEmirates
Uruguay
Chile
Thailand
Brazil
Colombia
CostaRica
Peru
Mexico
Montenegro
Turkey
Tunisia
Students at Level 4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Students below Level 2
%
%
12% of German students can solve problem-solving tasks with fairly
high collaboration complexity, maintaining awareness of group
dynamics and taking initiative to overcome obstacles and resolve
disagreements and conflicts
7. Boys are lagging behind
When individual problem-solving skills were at the centre of
PISA in 2012, boys scored higher in most countries. In
contrast, on the 2015 assessment of collaborative problem-
solving girls outperformed boys in in every country
9. Attitudes towards collaboration
vary across countries too
If schools foster boys’ appreciation of others and their
interpersonal friendships and relationships, then they may also
see better outcomes among boys in collaborative problem-solving
12. Learning environments can shape
attitudes and outcomes in collaboration
PISA asked students about how often they engage in communication-
intensive activities such as explaining one’s ideas in science class;
spending time in the laboratory doing practical experiments; arguing
about science questions; and taking part in class debates about
investigations. The results show a clear relationship between these
activities and positive attitudes towards collaboration
13. 0
1
2
3
I am a good
listener
I enjoy seeing
my classmates
be successful
I take into
account what
others are
interested in
I enjoy
considering
different
perspectives
I prefer working
as part of a
team to working
alone
I find that teams
make better
decisions than
individuals
I find that
teamwork raises
my own
efficiency
I enjoy co-
operating with
peers
Percentage-pointdifference
After accounting for gender and students' and schools' socio-economic profile
Before accounting for gender and students' and schools' socio-economic profile
Student interaction in science class
and attitudes towards collaboration
Figure V.6.9
Items comprising the index of valuing relationships Items comprising the index of valuing teamwork
Students who reported that more communication-intensive
activities take place in science class have more positive
attitudes towards collaboration
15. Looking beyond school walls
Only a quarter of the performance variation in
collaborative problem-solving skills lies between schools,
much less than is the case in the school disciplines
22. 22
22 Thank you
Find out more about our work at www.oecd.org
– All publications
– The complete micro-level database
Email: Andreas.Schleicher@OECD.org
Twitter: SchleicherEDU
and remember:
Editor's Notes
Labels are performance in collaborative problem solving
All differences are statistically significant
All differences are statistically significant.
The index of student interaction in science class is the sum of students' responses to questions about whether their science teachers use the following teaching practices in all lessons or in most lessons: students are given opportunities to explain their ideas; students spend time in the laboratory carrying out practical experiments; students are required to argue about science questions; there is a class debate about investigations. The index ranges from 0 to 4, with all responses weighted equally.
At the school level, the change in collaborative problem-solving score is per 10 percentage-point increase in the number of schoolmates who reported the above.
Note: UK includes only England, Northern Ireland and Wales
Results based on school principals’ report.
At the school level, the change in collaborative problem-solving score is per 10 percentage-point increase in the number of schoolmates who reported the above.