Thinking Skills and Creativity最新文献

With the increasing application of technology in education, exploring the value of technology-aided teaching modes in promoting students' development of critical thinking (CT) skills has become more prominent. This study targets English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Higher Vocational Colleges (HVCs) to empirically investigate the effects of technology-aided teaching on their development of CT skills. Utilizing the method of equal-group comparative teaching experiment, this study divided students into control and experimental groups and implemented various technology-aided teaching interventions in the experimental group. The results reveal that the application of technology has a positive impact on the development of CT skills and improvement in English argumentative writing among EFL students. Based upon these findings, this study proposes a teaching mode “problem-based learning context creating - viewpoints expressing - viewpoint questioning - collaborative resolution - reflective learning,” aiming to provide insights for effectively conducting CT teaching for EFL students under a technological environment.

This study focused on original mathematical problem solving among elementary students. The purpose of this study was to investigate originality in the solving of mathematical problems in K-6 students. Guided by this purpose, we investigated to what extent scores on accuracy, fluency, and application of concepts predict originality in producing solutions to mathematical problems. The participants included 520 K-6 students who attended a public elementary school which was located in a multicultural metropolitan area of New South Wales, Australia. The DISCOVER Mathematics Assessment was used to assess the students’ problem solving skills. To answer our research question, we conducted binary logistic regression analysis to predict the relationship between the independent variables (accuracy, fluency, and application of concepts) and the predicted binary variable (originality in solutions to mathematical problems). The logistic regression model was statistically significant and explained 11.6% of the variance in producing original solutions and classified 91.3 % of cases correctly. The results of the binary logistic regression analysis showed that increases in accuracy and application of concept scores were associated with an increase in the odds of being able to produce original solutions in mathematical problem solving. Unlike accuracy and application of concepts, a change in fluency scores was not significantly associated with a change in the odds of being able to produce original solutions in mathematical problem solving. The findings of this domain specific research on originality provided insights for the notion of creativity in mathematical problem solving among K-6 students. We discussed the implications of our findings as well as our recommendations for research, practice and policy to develop students’ creative potential.

While the evidence supporting cognitive-based creativity training as a means of enhancing creative thinking is increasing, its long-term effects and who can benefit from the training remain unclear. To address this gap, we developed a cognitive-based creativity training program for school-aged children and assessed its efficacy through pre-, post-, and follow-up tests, comparing the performance of two groups matched for working memory in the pre-test. One group (n = 33) underwent the training program, whereas the other group (n = 27) participated in the active control condition. The results showed that the training group exhibited significantly better creative thinking performance than the control group in the post-test. This difference was sustained over six months, and the improvement in creative thinking was independent of any changes in working memory, as determined using a subsample. In addition, individuals with lower levels of creative thinking performance before training gained more from training than those with higher levels.

Problem posing is increasingly being considered in the field of education, with many experts exploring its positive effects on student learning outcomes. In this case, different perspectives have emerged regarding the impact of the intervention, claiming the overall effect remains uncertain. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effects of a problem posing instructional intervention on student learning outcomes at the cognitive and non-cognitive levels from 2000 to 2023, using a three-level meta-analysis. 32 studies and 4,068 participants were included to compare the classrooms with and without problem posing instructional interventions in elementary to higher education. The results showed a moderate-positive and small positive effect on students cognitive (Hedges' g = 0.681, 95 % CI [0.552, 0.810], p < 0.001) and non-cognitive (Hedges' g = 0.367, 95 % CI [0.113, 0.620], p = 0.003) levels, respectively. Based on the moderator analysis, there were differences in the learning outcomes among students across various task formats. Notably, tasks that included specific information and involved problem posing in context demonstrated significantly better performance. In conclusion, these results indicate the importance of problem posing instructional interventions in promoting student's development and their impact on cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions.

Utilizing a case study approach, this research investigates the transformation of elementary students' Maker mindsets within the context of Maker education through a lesson study cycle. The study focuses on the Maker mindsets transformation of three students with varying abilities, deliberately chosen as information-rich participants. A project-specific questionnaire, the Maker Mindsets Scale, was employed to facilitate self-assessment of Maker mindsets before and after intervention. Additionally, teachers' post-lesson discussion meetings were observed, and semi-structured interviews with participating teachers were conducted to gauge their perceptions of students' Maker mindsets transformation. The analysis encompassed students' semi-structured reflection logs and interviews to uncover the underlying factors driving Maker mindsets transformation. The results revealed distinct variations in how students of different abilities perceived their Maker mindsets transformation. Nonetheless, participant teachers consistently observed transformations in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) thinking skills, self-efficacy, motivation, and collaborative learning across all students. The study further identifies a collaborative convergence of multiple factors contributing to Maker mindsets transformation, spanning teacher, student, and pedagogical perspectives. These findings carry significant implications for educators, advocating for the implementation of customized strategies, authentic contextualization, structured methodologies, and collaborative frameworks to holistically nurture Maker mindsets evolution. Moreover, our study underscores the practicality of the LS approach in fostering collaborative development of innovative pedagogical strategies aimed at fostering Maker mindsets formation.

In the field of education, research has consistently emphasized mathematical creative thinking as a crucial component of 21st-century skills. Thus, this cross-sectional study examines the predictors of such thinking by specifically focusing on the roles of perceived creativity, creative self-efficacy, and computational thinking. The participants consisted of 896 secondary school students (52.9 % female; 47.1 % male) in Indonesia who were asked to complete a series of online questionnaires and tests. For analysis, structural equation modeling was employed, demonstrating satisfactory construct validity and instrument reliability. Based on the results, there was a positive association between computational thinking and mathematical creative thinking. In addition, perceived creativity had a positive impact on mathematical creative thinking, whereas creative self-efficacy showed a negative association. As for the empirical model, it revealed that computational thinking plays a mediating role, connecting perceived creativity and creative self-efficacy to mathematical creative thinking. The findings suggest that incorporating these skills and related variables into the mathematics curriculums in schools is essential for preparing students for success in the 21st century.

Creative strategies used in drawing practice determine the visual effects of drawing. Drawing strategies reflect children's understanding, association, and summarisation of the visual features of objects. In the case of the human head, visual features are composed of positional, contour, and structural features. This study assessed the creative strategies of children aged 7–12 years based on their drawings of the visual features of the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and neck in realistic figures. Children's strategies for creating visual features of the human head were classified into four types: hidden, abstract, summarised, and realistic. The results showed that most children used abstract creation strategies to represent the visual features of the nose and mouth in their drawings. Most children expressed the visual features of the eyes and neck using summarised creative strategies. A few children applied realistic creative strategies to draw the visual features of eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Children used simplified structural features as a strategy to understand the visual features of the human head before creating their drawings. Most of the children tended to express the overall features of the human head with less curvature or number of contour lines in their drawings. Children regard the eyes and mouth as the major elements when drawing the visual features of the human head. Children regard eyebrows, noses, and ears as secondary elements expressing human heads. Accordingly, teachers need to educate children to understand and summarise the visual features of these secondary elements. Teachers also need to guide children in converting the visual elements from their understanding to the graphical elements in drawings.

A well-designed asynchronous online discussion (AOD) has the potential to encourage learners’ critical thinking (CT). Previous studies have shown that the discussion strategies selected by instructors when designing AOD questions can influence learners’ CT. However, the associations between different discussion strategies and learners’ CT have not been fully explored, and clear guidance for instructors on how to promote learners’ CT by selecting appropriate discussion strategies is limited. In this study, a coupling deep learning model named CritiNet was developed to classify and identify learners’ CT automatically based on Murphy's CT analysis model as a coding scheme (recognize, understand, analyze, evaluate, and create) in 15,483 Chinese text discussion posts. These discussion posts were generated by 505 learners in four different discussion strategies: case-based discussion, debate, open-ended discussion, and role play. Then, the associations of the discussion strategies with learners’ CT were examined. Results indicated CritiNet had excellent performance in classifying Chinese text discussion posts and identifying learners’ CT. Pearson's chi-squared test reported a strong association between the four discussion strategies and learners’ CT. Cross-analysis revealed differences among the four discussion strategies in encouraging CT. Specifically, the case-based discussion strategy developed evaluate of CT more effectively, whereas the three other strategies promoted analyze to a greater extent. By contrast, the open-ended strategy encouraged the least development of CT in create, and the role play strategy generated the smallest proportion in evaluate. The implications of these findings for instructors to encourage learners’ CT effectively in AOD were discussed.

With the widespread application of technology in various learning communities, asynchronous online discussions (AODs) have been repeatedly reported as important for exchanging and constructing knowledge and fostering critical thinking (CT). Nevertheless, the specific conducive processes in AODs are yet to be further identified. This study explored the effects of peer facilitation on enhancing CT by tracking the peer facilitation strategies and the corresponding CT episodes in AODs. Forty-five Chinese college students in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course participated in a three-phase online discussion task: Stating, Commenting, and Responding. Upon completion of the discussion, all interactive postings were retrieved verbatim and coded for peer facilitation instances and CT episodes in MAXQDA 2022. Seven peer facilitation strategies emerged from 105 peer facilitation instances at the Commenting phase and revealed a frequency-based three-tier peer facilitation pattern, with the bottom-tier, middle-tier and top-tier peer facilitation strategies correspondingly playing the bonding, engaging and monitoring functions in AODs. Such peer facilitation effectively triggered 78 CT episodes, with higher-level CT episodes aggregating on Analyze and Evaluate along an ascending CT level scale from Recognize, Understand, Analyze, Evaluate to Create. This study further identified stem and branch peer facilitation strategies that students employed in AODs, among which the single-strategy and double-strategy structures were more effective in triggering higher-level CT such as Analyze and Evaluate. In light of these findings, pedagogical implications are discussed for employing AODs as a learning community to foster CT in EFL classes.

Drawing a paper-based concept map gives students more freedom to express their mental model than digital concept mapping tools. However, this freedom can hinder a uniform structure and make determining the structural quality of students’ mental models more difficult. In this dual-study paper, we develop and determine the reliability of our Width, Depth and Strength Tool (WiDeST) for assessing paper-based concept maps in secondary and tertiary education. In the first study, 157 secondary education students created 1377 concept maps in a longitudinal design over 24 weeks. The first study's results indicate that WiDeST is reliable, with an Omega Total of 0.81. Test-retest stability (ICCk2) ranges between 0.72 and 0.84. To test whether WiDeST remained reliable in tertiary education, we undertook a second study in which 80 students created 80 concept maps. The second study's results show that WiDeST is reliable with an Omega total of 0.70. WiDeST remained reliable while the structural complexity of the mental models increased from secondary education to tertiary education.