Development and Psychometric Properties of an Instrument for Assessing Group Processes in Collaborative ProblemSolving in Higher Education

This article aimed to develop and analyze an instrument for assessing group processes involved in collaborative problem-solving tasks in higher education. The Scale for the Assessment of Group Processes in Collaborative Problem Solving (GROUPS) consisted of 24 self-reporting items grouped into four dimensions: Exploring and Understanding, Representing and Formulating, Planning and Executing, and Monitoring and Reflecting. The study followed an instrumental design and took place in Chile. The test was administered to 939 higher education students, all of whom answered the instrument upon completing a 3-week task on collaborative problem-solving. The task was designed by the research team in collaboration with the students' teachers. Regarding validity, the instrument structure showed appropriate fit indexes according to the theoretical model’s four factors (RMSEA and SRMR under and SRMR under <.05; ; CFI and TLI over .95). The instrument also showed appropriate indices of reliability (ordinal alpha over .80 in all factors). The different group processes observed are described. Moreover, the instrument’s characteristics are discussed, as are the results obtained and their implications for developing collaborative problem-solving skills in higher education.