Collaborative problem solving is an essential component of any 21st century science career. Scientists are hired, retained, and promoted for solving problems in dynamic and interdisciplinary teams. They discuss issues, explain and justify their opinions, debate, elaborate, and reflect on their collective knowledge. At the same time, both educational researchers and practitioners note a dissonance between the demands of real-world scientific problem solving and the current educational capacity to prepare effective problem solvers. This article addresses this issue by describing the DEEPER framework for scaffolding collaborative problem solving that was designed to address the student outcomes outlined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2011). The DEEPER scaffolding framework was empirically tested in a large-enrollment undergraduate Entomology course, and although no effects were observed on domain knowledge acquisition or transfer of problem solving, DEEPER served as a useful model for developing the process skills required for 21st century collaborative problem solving.