COPSE: Rapidly Instantiating Problem Solving Activities based on Tangible Tabletop Interfaces

Abstract

Collaborative problem solving is a skill that has become very important in our everyday lives and is constantly gaining attention in educational settings. In this paper, we present COPSE: a novel and unique software framework for instantiating Microworlds as collaborative problem solving activities on tangible tabletop interfaces. The framework provides three types of building blocks: widgets (provide input and localized feedback), equations (define the model), and scenes (visualize feedback), which can be specified in the form of structured text. Aim of COPSE is to simplify processes of creating, adjusting, and reusing custom Microworlds scenarios. We describe the structure of the framework, provide an example of a scenario, and report on a case study where we have used COPSE together with 33 teachers to build new scenarios on the fly.