Expressing and Addressing Uncertainty: A Study of Collaborative Problem-Solving Dialogues

To support learners during collaborative problem solving, developing a deeper understanding of collaborative dialogue is essential. This paper focuses on one important aspect of collaborative dialogue: expressions of uncertainty. In a study of undergraduate novice computer science students working in pairs, we observed that the students who produced the lowest quality solutions expressed uncertainty more often than those who produced middle-quality solutions. Perhaps surprisingly, pairs with the highest quality solutions also expressed more uncertainty than the middle performers. Examining the ways in which students expressed and then followed up on uncertainty revealed that higherperforming pairs utilized emerging learning opportunities when uncertainty was expressed, and remained focused on one task at a time. In contrast, the lower-performing pairs often did not resolve their uncertainty before moving on, attempting to work with multiple incomplete pieces of the solution simultaneously. These findings provide insight into how best to support collaborative learning during uncertainty.