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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
10:26
Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
Teacher Intervention During Collaborative Problem Solving in Mathematics Classrooms in Mainland China.
1School of Mathematics and Statistics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 28, 2025
Summary
Teacher interventions significantly impact collaborative problem solving (CPS) in Chinese classrooms. Effective strategies focus on social aspects and diagnosis, improving student performance in group tasks.
Area of Science:
- Education
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Chinese students underperformed in collaborative problem solving (CPS) in PISA 2015.
- Despite widespread use of student collaboration for over 20 years, research on teacher roles in CPS is limited.
- Open-ended tasks are increasingly used in mathematics to foster CPS skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of teacher intervention on pair and small group CPS.
- To analyze the effectiveness of different intervention focuses and methods.
- To provide insights into optimal teacher intervention styles for collaborative learning.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experiment was conducted with four teachers and eight classes.
- Typical cases of teacher intervention were selected for in-depth analysis.
- Intervention effects on task performance were evaluated based on focus and means.
Main Results:
- Three out of four teachers demonstrated effective interventions.
- Analysis identified key differences in intervention styles between the most and least effective teachers.
- Emphasis on social activities and diagnostic feedback emerged as crucial intervention components.
Conclusions:
- Teacher intervention plays a vital role in enhancing CPS performance.
- Effective interventions balance social facilitation with cognitive diagnosis.
- Cultural considerations regarding teacher authority are important for implementing collaborative activities effectively.
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