Abstract
In a world that is changing and developing continuously, every step that is taken toward creating a scientifically and technologically literate society forces individuals to think creatively. To solve the problems that may be faced during this endeavor, creative thinking is necessary to find new solutions and creating new products. Creativity also plays a significant role in many scientific studies. People who use their creativity can apply their scientific knowledge and this way the knowledge contained in textbooks might be used to produce valuable products rather than staying idle. Because of this, one of the most important goals of science education is to promote creative thinking starting from elementary levels to students who may lead the society in the future.
The goal of this study is to examine the influence of science education based on creative thinking on self-efficacy of preservice science teachers. Three different instruments have been used in this study to test the research hypotheses. These instruments are Tolerance Creative Thinking Test designed to measure creative thinking skills, Logical Thinking Group Test designed to measure problem solving skills, and finally Self-Efficacy Instrument for Preservice Teachers designed to measure preservice teachers beliefs about their self-efficacy. Additionally, interviews with some of the students were conducted to obtain qualitative data.
This research is an experimental study, which includes pretest, posttest with control group. This study has been conducted among fourth grade preservice science teachers at the department of Elementary Education, division of Science Education at Gazi University Faculty of Education in fall semester of 2002-2003 educational year. 77 preservice teachers who participated in this study are divided into two equal groups, which are the control group (n=38), and the experimental group (n=39). In the study, an approach based on creative thinking was used with the experimental group, whereas a traditional approach was used with the control group. This study is completed within eight weeks including the application process of pre and posttests.
To test the hypotheses of this research, quantitative data collected through the instruments, and qualitative data collected through interviews were used. Quantitative data have been analyzed by using t test for dependent and independent groups, frequency and percentage analysis that are included in the SPSS statistics software. The qualitative data have been analyzed by transcribing the video recordings of interviews.
As a result of both qualitative and quantitative analyses, it is concluded that science education based on creative thinking influenced preservice teachers by
a) Increasing their creative thinking levels
b) Improving their problem solving skills
c) Increasing their self-efficacy belief levels
d) Enhancing their motivation toward being a science teacher
The qualitative data analyses have supported the results of quantitative data analyses.
Key Words: Science Education, Creative Thinking Skills, Learning Products
Language: English.
Reference: KORAY, Özlem ” The Influence of Science Education Based On Creative Thinking on Learning Products, Ph.D., Department of Science Education, November, 2003.
Correspondence
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem KORAY
Bülent Ecevit University
Faculty of Eregli Education
Department of Primary Education
Program of Science Teacher Education
67300 Kdz.Ereğli/ZONGULDAK-TURKEY
E-mail:ocankoray@gmail.com
