The Effect of Problem-Posing Activities In A Basic Science Course on the Creative Thinking Skills of Preservice Primary School Teachers
Synopsis
This study aimed to examine the effect of problem-posing activities implemented in the “Basic Science in Primary School” course on the creative thinking skills of preservice primary school teachers. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups was employed. The participants were 112 first-year preservice primary school teachers enrolled in an undergraduate primary education program at a public university. Of these participants, 55 were assigned to the experimental group and 57 to the control group. During the seven-week intervention, the experimental group engaged in structured, semi-structured, and open-ended problem-posing activities, while the control group continued with regular instruction. Data were collected using the “How Creative Are You?” scale administered before and after the intervention. Descriptive statistics, independent- and paired-samples t tests, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed significant improvements in creative thinking scores in both groups, with a greater increase observed in the experimental group. ANCOVA results indicated a statistically significant, moderate effect favoring the experimental group after controlling for pre-test scores (F(1, 109) = 11.15, p = .001, ηp² = .093). These findings suggest that science-based problem-posing activities can contribute to the development of preservice primary school teachers’ creative thinking skills. Accordingly, the systematic integration of problem-posing activities into primary teacher education programs is recommended.
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