Characteristics of Productive and Unproductive Peer Dialogue in Collaborative Problem-Solving: A Systematic Review

This study is part of the Project PEERSolvers, which aims at conceptualization and designing an evidence-based intervention to promote young people’s capacities for constructive peer interaction and collaborative problem-solving. Previous research indicates that spontaneous peer interaction is often unproductive (Howe and Mercer, 2010). Thus, scholars (e.g. Dawes & Sams, 2004; Mercer et al., 2004; Wegerif & Scrimshaw, 1997) consider it is important to support young people to constructively participate in a dialogue during collaborative problem-solving. Although much is known about the process of peer dialogue (Howe & Abedin, 2013), the systematization of knowledge about characteristics of dialogue that make collaborative problem solving among peers productive or unproductive is lacking. Therefore, we will set out to determine such features in order to conceptualize the intervention model which will promote constructive dialogue and at the same time prevent the occurrence of undesirable ways of communication in teamwork. Furthermore, research findings suggest that adult scaffolding, especially teachers’ plays important role in building youngsters' capacities for constructive dialogue and that digital media could act as resources for effective collaborative problem-solving (e.g. Hathcock et al., 2015; Ratnasari et al., 2019; Sobko et al., 2020). Thus, we intend to systematically review the relevant body of literature not just to identify productive and unproductive dimensions of peer dialogue, but also to target adult scaffolding techniques and the role of digital media as the potential resources in collaborative problem-solving. (see also HYPOTHESES and STUDY TYPE).