Assessing Creativity in a Greek Sample: Reliability and Validity of Two Predictors and Two Criteria

The present investigation assessed the reliability and predictive validity of four creativity measures with a Greek sample (N = 433). Two of the measures were predictors of creativity. One of these was the How Would You Describe Yourself (HWYDY) and the other Creative Attitudes and Values (CA&V). The other two measures were criteria of creativity. One of these was Creative Activities and Accomplishments Checklist and the other the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale. Each measure has previously demonstrated good psychometric properties in other samples, but these may not apply to a Greek sample. Indeed, the present analyses uncovered an idiosyncrasy. Correlational analyses indicated that three of the measures were reliable in the Greek sample but one--the HWYDY—was not, at least initially. When the contraindicative items in the HWYDY were removed, reliability was high. Interestingly, the descriptor “originality” lowered reliability of the measure. Several explanations for this are discussed. Analyses also indicated good predictive validity of the HWYDY and the CA&V measures. This was supported by canonical analyses using all four measures, and in regression analyses testing each criterion individually. Future research is recommended but the current results are largely supportive of the use of these four creativity measures in Greek samples

The Emergency Remote Teaching Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Arabian Gulf University

This paper aimed to assess the adoption of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) in the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) and to reflect on the lessons learnt from such experience. Two questionnaires were developed and used to assess the ERT experience from both students’ and academic staff’s perspectives. Around 98% of the College of Graduate Studies (CGS) students and 96% of the academic staff participated in the study. The results indicated that Zoom and Moodle were the mostly-used platforms, while live lectures and PowerPoint presentations were mainly used as teaching methods. Moreover, the results showed that the overall satisfaction level with the ERT experience gradually increased for both students and academic staff, as it reached its maximal point at the end of the experience. However, there was no significant effect of gender and academic degree on the satisfaction level of the ERT. From this disruptive educational experience, it could be inferred that given the diversity of AGU students and the success of the ERT experience, remote teaching would be a good alternative to conventional teaching in emergency and non-emergency situations in the CGS at AGU. Nevertheless, developing specific rules and regulations for the implementation of a resilient blended teaching policy at AGU was recommended. This paper provides insights into the experience of applying ERT in a context where only degrees obtained through conventional teaching are accredited. It assesses this experience providing lessons learned, not only applicable to universities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, but also to universities where traditional teaching prevails

Enhanced Open-Mindedness and Problem Finding Among Gifted Female Students Involved in Future Robotics Design

This article investigated the impact of a robotic-based enrichment program on problem finding (PF) and active-openminded thinking skills (AOT) in 60 gifted female students (8th and 9th graders) from the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The participants were randomly selected from several cohorts of gifted students who participated in an enrichment summer program. The enrichment program lasted for 4 weeks. The study instruments included the Problem Generation (PG) test and the Active-Openminded Thinking (AOT) scale, which were administered to the participants at the beginning of the program and at the end of the program. The change in the measured program outcomes after attending the robotics intervention program was assessed by a regression model, where post-test scores were regressed on pre-test scores. The results revealed differences for the three subscales of AOT: Belief Identification (BI) Flexible Thinking (FT), and Dogmatic Thinking (DT) as well as the total score of the AOT in favour of post-test condition. Moreover, the results indicated that 9th graders benefited more from the enrichment program than 8th graders did. As for PF, fluency scores showed no significant differences between pre-test and post-test, while originality scores were significantly higher for the post-test scores when compared to the pre-test scores

Predictors of Academic Success Among Undergraduate Medical Students: The Roles of Divergent and Convergent Thinking

In the last two decades, researchers in the medical field have attempted to predict academic success in undergraduate medical programs. Previous literature suggests several factors that predict academic success among Doctor of Medicine (MD) students, including metacognitive awareness, motivation, and emotional intelligence. However, the roles of divergent thinking (DT) and convergent thinking (CT) in MD students’ academic success are unclear. Moreover, because most definitions and theories of giftedness focus on K-12 education, little is known about gifted post-secondary learners, especially in specialized fields such as medicine. The present study aimed to bridge this gap by testing the role of DT and CT in predicting academic success among 84 gifted post-secondary MD learners. Three assessments were administered: (a) Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices Test, (b) the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WG-III), and (c) the Alternative Uses Test. Cluster analysis suggested a distinct three-cluster solution. Correlational and multiple regression analyses showed that the originality dimension of DT and the Drawing Conclusions and Recognizing Assumptions subscales of the WG-III were significantly associated with and predicted the academic success of gifted undergraduate MD students, while IQ was not significantly related to students’ grade point average. Recommendations for future research are also discussed

The Reliability and Validity of Problem Generation Tests: A Meta-Analysis with Implications for Problem Finding and Creativity

Problem finding (PF) is a very important part of the creative process. The problem Generation (PG) test was developed nearly 40 years ago in an attempt to assess the potential for PF using a series of paper-and-pencil tasks. This meta-analysis examined 19 previous empirical investigations of the PG test to examine internal reliability (k = 43, N = 2,029), convergent (k = 125, N = 2,573), and discriminant validity (k = 26, N = 2,145) evidence. A search identified 617 candidate studies. Analyses indicated that the overall random-effects weighted mean reliability was = .816, t(42) = 26.419, p < .001 (95% CI: 0.786, 0.842), indicating good internal consistency. A second analysis produced a random-effects weighted mean validity coefficient r, was .463, t(124) = 13.994, p < .001 (95% CI: 0.406, 0.518), indicating moderate agreement between PG test and other creativity measures such as divergent thinking and creative achievement. The mean correlation among the scoring indices of the PG test (i.e., fluency, flexibility, and originality) was .590, t(25) = 4.714, p < .001 (95% CI: 0.364, 0.750) which indicates a moderate level of discriminant validity of the scoring indices. Data were heterogeneous in all three analyses, but moderator analyses showed that covariates did not explain the variation. This is the first study that examined the reliability and validity of the PG test, which showed that the test is, in several ways, a valid and reliable tool for assessing PF ability