Breaking the challenge of unproductive collaboration: What’s really going wrong?

Educational research has significantly advanced our understanding of the conditions that facilitate productive peer collaboration, which in turn enhances learning outcomes and problem-solving skills. However, despite frequent warnings, such as those from Howe and Mercer (2007), about the lack of productivity in peer dialogue, the focus has largely been on successful collaboration cases. The challenge of unproductive peer collaboration remains underexplored. This work addresses the barriers that prevent efficient collaborative problem-solving in schools, focusing on adolescents whose cognitive and social development should ideally equip them with the necessary skills for effective collaboration. Drawing on findings from our recent systematic review (Baucal et al., 2023), we present a four-dimensional framework to identify and categorize key obstacles that hinder students’ joint efforts. The results provide a deeper understanding of the factors that undermine collaboration, offering insights into the specific challenges faced during various phases of collaborative problem-solving. Furthermore, we propose a model that maps these challenges onto the key stages of collaborative work, and provide practical recommendations for teachers on how to better scaffold and support students in overcoming these obstacles.