Creative Thinking in Saudi Arabia - Article Example

Running Head: COMPARISON OF COGNITIVE STYLE & CREATIVE THINKING Comparison Of Cognitive Style &Creative Thinking In Saudi Arabia [Name Of Student] [Name Of Institution] COMPARISON OF COGNITIVE STYLE &CREATIVE THINKING IN A SELECT SAMPLE OF GRADE 10 MALE STUDENTS IN RURAL AND URBAN SAUDI ARABIA AIM OF PROJECT The aim of this study is to examine the creative thinking scores for rural and urban students and determine whether these students can be categorized as reflective or impulsive. Using the TTCT and MFFT as the benchmark for measurement, of rural and urban students in figural and mathematical subjects. In addition, the opinions of individuals within the educational field (teachers, principals, supervisors), regarding creative thinking in relation to urban and rural students, will be incorporated into our questionnaire. This study will focus on grade 10 students as participants for two reasons: primarily, according to Piaget’s developmental theory, the formal operational (abstract thinking) stage starts around 12 years of age, which is the early high school level. In addition, Piaget"s theory suggested that children thinking at a formal operational level become more systematic. Also, the ability of hypothical abstract will emerge at this level (Moses and Baldwin 2005). Results of a later study (Smith and Carlsson 1983) also suggest that creative thinking is at its strongest in high school students, peaking at 16 years. Further, reflective-impulsive style is also influenced by age. STATEMENT OF PROJECT Cognitive style refers to individual characteristics (the holist-analytic dimension or the verbal-imagery dimension), which organize and represent information (Adams 2001; Price 2004). Furthermore, cognitive style is an important axis along which to study the individual differences among students in the cognitive process. What are the differences in creative thinking between Saudi rural and urban male students who are categorized as reflective and those categorized as impulsive, and how does their respective cognitive style (RI) relate to creative thinking? To examine the differences in creative thinking scores between rural and urban male students, using the TTCT and compare these scores between those students categorized as impulsive and those categorized as reflective using the MFFT. (Study 1) To investigate the opinions of individuals, regarding creative thinking in rural and urban male students in relation to mathematical subjects, using interviews for individuals working in the educational field (teachers, principals and supervisors). (Study 2) Definition of Terms MFFT Matching Familiar Figure Test (MFFT) is a specific test that measures the latency of the first response and the accuracy of the same response (Jones 1997). The test was developed by (Kagan et.al 1964). Latency Rozencwajg and Corroyer (2005) define latency as "time taken to respond" (p.452). Accuracy Defined as the "number of errors" (Rozencwajg and Corroyer 2005 p.452) TTCT Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) is a specific test to measure five skills of creative thinking (Fluency, Originality, Abstractness of Titles, Elaboration and Resistance to Closure) in individuals (Whorton et. al 2001). NATURE OF RESEARCH In this thesis, I will compare and examine RI style and creative thinking using two separate studies, which will gauge students (male) from rural and urban settings in Saudi Arabia: - In study one, male students from rural and urban areas will complete the TTCT so that any differences in creative thinking can be examined. The scores of male students in the TTCT will be compared with male students who categorized as impulsive and categorized as reflective using the MFFT. - In study two, the author will interview individuals who work in the educational field (teachers, principals and supervisors) in both rural and urban areas regarding creative thinking and RI style. The first research study will utilize a quantitative approach. Results will be generated by analysis of test scores. Specifically, the author will use test responses as a basis for determining differences between rural and urban male students" scores on both the TTCT and MFFT. In the second study, a qualitative approach will be employed. It will allow detailed responses from individuals who work in the educational field in relation to their understanding and opinions regarding creative thinking. This will be achieved by using a series of semi-structured interviews consisting of open-ended questions. The questionnaires will be designed to gather descriptive data from the participants and to examine perceptions and experiences of creative thinking in relation to the creative attributes of both students and the educational process. Erickson and Gutierrez (2002) emphasized that the circumstances of educational research warrant qualitative data collection because important and relevant quantitative data can be difficult to collect, since there is no isolated method and variables we can control. Abdalhage (2000) also illustrated that the advantage of the qualitative method is the ability to provide complex textual descriptions of how people experience their involvement in a given research issue. It provides details about the "human" side of an issue, that is, the various behaviours, beliefs, opinions, emotions and relationships of individuals. In addition, a qualitative method is effective in identifying the uncertain factors, for example, social norms, socioeconomic status, gender roles, ethnicity and religion and their role in the research. DATE OF COMMENCEMENT OF PROJECT EXPECTED DURATION OF PROJECT NUMBER, TYPE AND AGE RANGE OF PARTICIPANTS Study 1: Participants Approximately 90 rural and 90 urban Saudi male students at the Grade 10 level (aged 15-17 years). The total of 180 students is the maximum that the researcher can reasonably test in the time available for the study. Individual testing (both TTCT and MFFT) takes more than an hour for each student. Measures In this study the researcher will use the TTCT with pictures- Figural B (Torrance, 1966and 2006) and the adolescent form of the MFFT by EL-Faramawy (1986) in order to measure RI style. Firstly, the TTCT test consists of three drawing activities. The test measures a student’s creative thinking in five different skill areas including Fluency, Originality, Abstractness of Titles, Elaboration and Resistance to Closure ( see appendix A). Adma (2000) measured the validity and the reliability of TTCT, figural A and B, for students of both genders at high schools in Saudi culture. She measured the validity of the TTCT figural B and found the sub skills of creative thinking (Fluency, Originality, Abstractness of Titles, Elaboration and Resistance to Closure) and the overall test score ranged between r=0.76 (originality) to r= 0.91 (overall test), p .05 to p ≤ .001. Which indicates they were significantly related. Also, the researcher measured the test-retest of TTCT figural B; she found the correlation between subscale scores were as follows: fluency (0.78), elaboration (0.99), resistance to closure (0.85), abstractness of title (0.83), originality (0.60) and for the overall test scores (0.80). Each participant is examined individually and each test item has one standard picture with eight similar variants. In MFFT, a student must select the drawing which corresponds exactly to a standard among similar variants. The total number of errors and the latency of first response for each test item is recorded. Therefore, two areas will be measured: latency and accuracy in order to classify the students into four groups. (1) Students who take a long time to respond and make fewer errors (those that score above the median on response time and below the median on errors) are classified as reflective; (2) students who are quick to respond and make a lot of errors (those that score below the median on response time and above the median on errors) are classified as impulsive; (3) students who take a long time to respond and make a lot of errors (those that score above the median on response time as well as errors) are classified as slow- in accurate, and (4) students who are quick to respond and make fewer errors (those that score below the median on response time and errors) are classified as fast-accurate (Byron & Weinberg 1976; Agarwal et al. 1983). However, the percentage of reflective-impulsive students is greater than other groups (slow-inaccurate and fast-accurate). The researcher found the reliability of the MFFT for test-retest was r= 0.85 for latency and was r=0.68 for accuracy which means the MFFT is a precedent for its use in Arab culture (e.g. Saudi Arabia). PREMISES ON WHICH PROJECT IS TO BE CONDUCTED Saudi Arabia (Both public and private schools) As most rural towns have only one secondary school, the researcher has chosen one school from each of the following three towns adjacent to Makkah. Aljamoum (approximately 30km from the city centre), Alabyar (160km from the city) and Asfan (90km from the city). All of these towns are administered by the city of Makkah. DEALING WITH POTENTIAL RISKS No risks involved Read More