The effect of creative problem solving training on students' creative and critical thinking skills and dispositions.

Abstract

The development of creative and critical thinking abilities is a fundamental and essential part of modern education. Common consensus in research holds that creativity and critical thinking can and should be taught in order to promote deeper learning, develop higher levels of personal well-being, and prepare students for future careers and societal contributions. Despite recent increased attention on creativity and critical thinking abilities in education, however, a disconnect exists between research and practice. Recommendations for practical applications and guidance for best practices in developing creativity and critical thinking in actual classrooms are needed. To address this gap, this dissertation explores the relationship between receiving training in creative problem solving and change in creative and critical thinking skills and dispositions, specifically at the elementary level.A review of literature demonstrates that both creative and critical thinking are integral parts of education and that they are cognitive abilities that can be taught and learned. However, little research has been conducted to understand how they relate to each other in student learning and how both skills can be taught and developed together in elementary education. Previous research has largely studied these cognitive abilities separately in theory and practice, as well as primarily focused on educational development at the post-secondary level. Further investigation is needed to identify best practices for teaching creativity and critical thinking abilities in elementary educational settings, to provide context for quantitative data through use of qualitative student voice, and to further explore the general theoretical relationship between creativity and critical thinking. This study specifically assessed fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students at an elementary school in Minnesota, USA over the course of three weeks. A triangulation mixed-methods design was used in order to allow qualitative data to better inform and expand upon the results gathered through quantitative means. The research methodology was a quasi-experimental approach using a within-subjects pretest-posttest design. Data was collected and analyzed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data was collected through pretest-posttest measures on four assessments, including the Figural Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, the Test of Critical Thinking developed by the William & Mary School of Education, the Creative Trait Motivation Scale, and the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale. Students received training in creative problem solving over the course of seven lessons. For each lesson, students received approximately 40 minutes of training in creative problem solving skills, as taught through the Creative Problem Solving for Kids curriculum. Following the treatment period, qualitative data was collected through interviews with some of the students. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and/or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Qualitative data was coded through inductive coding in an iterative fashion. Resulting qualitative themes were compared with quantitative results to interpret the collected data and determine possible relationships between the data sources. The results of this study have both theoretical and practical implications. First, this study contributes to theoretical understandings of creativity, critical thinking, and how these thinking abilities relate to each other in the context of elementary education. Second, the findings of this study emphasize the need for additional mixed-methods research that considers both quantitative and qualitative data in the areas of creativity, critical thinking, and education in order to fully comprehend complex and multifaceted student abilities and motivations. Third, the results indicate that students in grades 4-6 understand creative thinking, critical thinking, motivation for creativity, and critical thinking disposition in ways that are similar, yet sometimes inconsistent with academic definitions. This establishes a need for clear definitions in research with students as well as calls for continued exploration and the development of additional assessments in these areas. Fourth, this study informs best practices for teaching and researching creativity and critical thinking in education. The findings suggest that training in creative problem solving for seven forty-minute lessons may have a connection to creative thinking skills and motivations, but do not suggest a connection to critical thinking skills and dispositions. This study did not investigate a causal or correlational relationship between creative problem solving and creative and critical thinking abilities. Instead, its purpose was to gain knowledge through exploration of these themes in order to better inform future research in these areas.