Applying debriefings in the context of higher education: How joint reflection fosters students’ collaborative problem solving

Abstract During collaborative problem solving, higher education students experience various challenges like communication and coordination issues. Moreover, they often report feeling unprepared to work in collaborative environments. Hence, despite the benefits of learning and working together, some groups fail to function, resulting in poor performance, low learning gains and dissatisfaction among group members. The current study investigates the potential of group reflexivity interventions (i.e., debriefings) as a means to foster students’ collaboration, performance and learning gain. Using a pretest–posttest design, 38 higher education students worked together in 14 teams to solve a collaborative problem-solving task in a hackathon-like setting. At the midpoint of the teams’ collaboration, they conducted either a debriefing (experimental condition) or a filler task (control condition). Quantitative (e.g., questionnaires) and qualitative data (e.g., video recordings) were collected and evaluated. Statistical analyses revealed beneficial effects for collaboration, but not for performance and learning gain. Observing the teams during the debriefings provided further insights into students’ joint reflection processes. The findings emphasize the potential of self-led debriefings in fostering students’ collaboration. Our study helps in understanding the linkage between debriefing and collaboration more precisely. Implications for research and practice are discussed.