What kinds of activities are common among teenagers who work well with others?

During our July CoL Meeting we were asked to read the article "What kinds of activities are common among teenagers who work well with others?"  (OECD Publications)  Below is a summary of my thoughts and take away information from that article.

• Schools are social places where students "hone the interpersonal skills required to function" in society
• At our school, we often begin teaching this through "The Pt. England Way"
• Many students are struggling with the 'expected' social skills of their everyday environment in contrast with those of the school and then ultimately the workplace
• Student problem solving and collaborative skills are now looked at in formal testing situations and when seeking adequate paying employment opportunities
• NZ students (along with Japan, USA, Australia, Singapore and Korea) score among the highest in the world when working collaboratively to problem solve
• They are among the best at working with others worldwide
• While students who are more physically active score better when collaboratively problem solving, they do not see a difference when simply collaborating in general in other areas
• However, students who participate in after school activities like: online video games, hanging with friends/talking on phone, helping around the home enjoyed teamwork activities
• Those who assessed social, chat or internet networks did not enjoy working collaboratively

In conclusion, it is important to note that students should be encouraged to participate in activities outside of school, especially those including household chores, family conversations, less time gaming,  and physical activities.   

I find this finding quite reaffirming for what I would consider to be simple common sense. However, I feel that there is definitely a need for this to be made into a publicly researched topic since there are so many households in the world that are allowing their children to participate in activities that limit social interactions and do not promote family interactions.