Complex Problem Solving at PISA 2012 and PISA 2015: Interaction with Complex Reality

Abstract

In 2012 the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), for the first time in the history of large-scale assessments, included a new type of problems called “interactive problems”. This article will analyze the problems. The research area behind it is the psychology of complex problem solving in a complex multi-factor environment which involves search, experimenting and control in conditions of uncertainty. The article discusses the new opportunities that open up and the problems that arise in introducing such problems in large-scale assessment practice, with particular focus on standard assessment of solving creative problems via “a standard list of creative answers”. It looks at the growing importance of studies into exploratory behavior and “experimentation with experimentation” and their impact on education policy.

Keywords: PISA, problem solving, complex problem solving, interactive problems, Kahneman uncertainty, Dörner uncertainty, experimenting with experimenting, assessment of creativity