Search

Asian culture has been test-centric for over 1,400 years. U.S. education has been since the 1990s. Based on Kim's creative Climates, Attitudes, and Thinking skills (CATs), creativity indicators were developed using the 2015 PISA questionnaires. Study I examined: (1) relationships between students' PISA science scores and CATs; (2) differences between Asian and U.S. students in PISA scores and CATs; and (3) relationships between teachers' years of teaching and nurturing CATs. Study I found: (1) negative relationships between students' PISA scores and CATs; (2) Asian students demonstrating higher PISA scores but lower CATs than U.S. students; and (3) U.S. teachers decreasingly nurture CATs. Study II examined how U.S. CATs changed from 1990 through 2017 by analyzing TTCT norming data (N = 273,441) and found continued declines in CATs, especially in imagination and in young children.

To understand creativity is to recognize and develop the creative potential within oneself and others. This article examines what creativity is "not" and then what creativity "is". First, the six leading misconceptions about creativity are discussed: Creativity belongs solely to the arts; creativity is quickly recognizable; innovators always work alone; mental illness enhances creativity; creativity is a divine flash of inspiration; and newness is a prerequisite to creativity. Then, using the research-based CATs model, what creativity is and how creativity develops into innovation are discussed: (a) cultivate creative climates; (b) nurture creative attitudes; and (c) develop creative thinking skills. Creativity does not come from nature but from nurture, and developing gifted children's creativity should be the goal of parenting and education.

With the passing of Korea's Gifted Education Act, creativity has come to the forefront in considering the future of Korea's economic prosperity in the global economy (Korean Educational Development Institute, 2003). The purpose of this study was to examine the understanding of creativity among Korean science teachers of gifted students. Sixty teachers participated in this study with an open-ended questionnaire about their understanding of creativity. The data were analyzed based on Urban's (1995) three components of creativity. The findings indicated that these science teachers had a thorough understanding of the cognitive component and a strong association of creativity with intellectual ability, but overidentified with the cognitive component, showing less awareness of the personal and environmental components of creativity. To shift their understanding to a more balanced view, personality and environmental components, as well as attributes in other component areas, should be emphasized.

Some research has shown that creativity test scores are independent from IQ scores, whereas other research has shown a relationship between the two. To clarify the cumulative evidence in this field, a quantitative review of the relationship between creativity test scores and IQ scores was conducted. Moderating influences of IQ tests, IQ score levels, creativity tests, creativity subscales, creativity test types, gender, age, and below and above the threshold (IQ 120) were examined. Four hundred forty-seven correlation coefficients from 21 studies and 45,880 participants were retrieved. The mean correlation coefficient was small (r = .174; 95% CI = .165 ? .183), but heterogeneous; this correlation coefficient indicates that the relationship between creativity test scores and IQ scores is negligible. Age contributed to the relationship between intelligence and creativity the most; different creativity tests contributed to it secondly. This study does not support threshold theory.

Project Clarion, a Jacob K. Javits-funded project, focused on the scale-up of primary-grade science curricula. Curriculum units, based on an Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM), were developed for high-ability learners, but tried out with all students in Title I settings to study the efficacy of the units with all learners. The units focus on the development of students' conceptual understanding to undergird science content attainment. Teaching and learning models, such as concept formation and concept mapping were used to scaffold science learning and reasoning for appropriate curriculum differentiation. Science content mastery was measured using the Metropolitan Achievement Tests. Reasoning skills were measured using the Test of Critical Thinking. Understanding of macro-concepts and content attainment were measured by curriculum-embedded performance-based assessments. Students with the ICM outperformed students without the specialized curriculum in science content and reasoning skills, and showed greater growth in both conceptual understanding and content attainment.

The purpose of the study was to measure the effects of higher level, inquiry-based science curricula on students at primary level in Title I schools. Approximately 3,300 K-3 students from six schools were assigned to experimental or control classes (N = 115 total) on a random basis according to class. Experimental students were exposed to concept-based science curriculum that emphasized "deep learning" though concept mastery and investigation, whereas control classes learned science from traditional school-based curricula. Two ability measures, the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R, Bracken 1998) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Intelligence Test (NNAT, Naglieri 1991), were used for baseline information. Additionally, a standardized measure of student achievement in science (the MAT-8 science subtest), a standardized measure of critical thinking, and a measure for observing teachers' classroom behaviors were used to assess learning outcomes. Results indicated that all ability groups of students benefited from the science inquiry-based approach to learning that emphasized science concepts, and that there was a positive achievement effect for low socio-economic young children who were exposed to such a curriculum.

The study examined the possible roles that creativity plays in students dropping out of high school. It used data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS: 88), the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS: 2002), and 87 high school students from a low income area in southeastern Michigan. NELS and ELS questions related to creative personality and anticreative school environment were selected and asked of students. The students' responses were compared to their scores on measures of creativity (Runco Ideational Behavior Scale, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, & Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students). The NELS respondents who showed creative personality were identified and examined whether their creativity related to dropping out. The results of logistic regression analyses indicated that the questions selected from NELS and ELS that showed anticreative school environment have a negative correlation with the scores on the creativity measures, which affect students' dropping out. An understanding of these students and their behavior will help promote creative students' academic and lifelong success through appropriate classroom restructuring.

Creativity is a very complex interaction among a person, a field, and a culture (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). People vary in their native capacity for creativity; however, an individual's interaction with the macrocosm can foster creative expression. East Asian cultures, which include Korean culture, are based upon the principals of Confucianism. The impact of Confucianism on creativity is reviewed and the relationship between Confucianism and creativity was explored in the present study. The study involved comparing 184 Korean educators' scores on a measure of Confucianism (Eastern-Western Perspective Scale) with their scores on a measure of creativity (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural). The results indicate that Confucianism is negatively related to creativity. Specifically, some elements of Confucianism, Unconditional Obedience, Gender Inequality, Gender Role Expectations, and Suppression of Expression, may present cultural blocks to creativity. Further, Confucianism was found to be negatively related to Adaptive creative type and Creative Strengths, but not Innovative creative type, which indicates that Adaptive creative type may be more sensitive to, and thus more influenced by, culture. (Contains 3 tables.)

There is disagreement among researchers about whether IQ tests or divergent thinking (DT) tests are better predictors of creative achievement. Resolving this dispute is complicated by the fact that some research has shown a relationship between IQ and DT test scores (e.g., Runco & Albert, 1986; Wallach, 1970). The present study conducted meta-analyses of the relationships between creative achievement and both IQ and DT test scores. The analyses included 17 studies (with 5,544 participants) that established the correlation coefficients between IQ and creative achievement and 27 studies (with 47,197 participants) that established the correlation coefficients between DT test scores and creative achievement. Marginal, but statistically significant, Fisher's Z-transformed correlation coefficients were revealed. The analysis found a significantly higher relationship between DT test scores and creative achievement (r = 0.216) than between IQ test scores and creative achievement (r = 0.167). The differences in the correlation coefficients were explained by differences in DT tests, creative achievement types, predicted time periods, and creativity subscales. The significant independent moderator effect for different DT tests indicates that the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) predict creative achievement better than any other DT test included in this study. Among the creative achievement types, music is predicted the best by IQ and all others are predicted best by DT tests. Among the time periods evaluated, the relationship between DT test scores and creative achievement had the highest correlation at the period of 11-15 years. (Contains 2 figures, 7 tables and 2 footnotes.)

According to Csikszentmihalyi (1988), creativity is a very complex interaction among a person, a field, and a culture. In keeping with this approach, a look at Asian culture in relation to its impact on creativity is in order. While people may vary in their native capacity for creativity, it is in the individual's interaction with the macrocosm where creative expression can be found. Therefore, this paper will explore the four principles of Confucianism, and how they compare to creativity research in order to discover how Asian culture influences creativity; and what we can do to enhance our students' creative capacity.

There is disagreement among researchers as to whether creativity is a unidimensional or multidimensional trait. Much of the debate centers around the most widely used measure of creativity, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). This study used data from 1,000 kindergartners (ages 5-7), 1,000 third graders (ages 7-11) and 1,000 sixth graders (ages 10-13). Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for both the two-factor model and one-factor model to determine which fit the data better. Measurement invariance across genders and grade levels was assessed using multiple group analyses in which sets of parameters were freed sequentially in a series of hierarchically nested models. The findings indicate that the structure of TTCT scores is consistent with a two-factor theory. Also, the results of the multiple group analyses indicate that model parameters for gender groups are more invariant than for grade levels in determining the fit of the model. (Contains 6 tables.)