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Abstract

1. Introduction Current curricular frameworks are emphasizing the need for students to learn how to communicate and work collaboratively because the problems that they will face as adults are too complex for one person alone to solve. The Partnership for 21 st Century Learning (2015) places communication and collaboration equal to critical thinking skills as necessary for learning and innovation. Both the ELA Anchor Standards and the Mathematics Practice Standards in the Common Core State Standards list speaking to, listening to, and reasoning with others as essential skills for critical thinking in language arts and mathematics (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). These and other frameworks suggest that proximal processes are essential for successful problem solving, but (1) what are the characteristics of these proximal processes, and (2) how do they affect problem solving? An additional aspect to consider is problem solving as it relates to context. James Gee argues that serious games are natural environments for both problem solving scenarios and proximal processes, but school is not. In serious games, players interact with other players and/or non-player characters in order to gain skills, resources, and possible solutions for the problems presented in the game. Additionally, players form affinity spaces, which are networks of other people with like interests for the purposes of sharing information, mentoring, and extending the game world beyond its original design (Gee, 2007). School, however, still relies on individual effort and assessment. The primary flow of information is linear rather than networked; policies inform