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

Gender Differences in Creative Potential: A Meta-Analysis of Mean Differences and Variability

The current study examined gender differences in divergent thinking (DT) using meta-analyses of mean difference and variation. The main objective of the meta-analysis of mean difference was to resolve contradictory findings in the creativity literature regarding the prevalence of more creativity among males or females in terms of creative potential; the meta-analysis of variation aimed to test the greater male variability hypothesis (GMVH) in DT. To test gender differences in mean (i.e., Hedges’ g), results from 213 studies (k = 1,251; N = 115,289) were analyzed using a three-level approach. Females slightly outperformed males in DT, g = -.065, 95% CI [-.095, -.034], p = < .001. Three-level multiple regression analyses showed that the mean effect size significantly varied by (a) country, (b) DT subscale, (c) type of task, and (d) ability. In the second meta-analysis, the GMVH in creative potential was tested by synthesizing the results of 1,152 effect sizes from 187 studies (k = 1,152; N = 101,328). The results confirmed the existence of greater male variability (GMV) in DT, (InVR) = 1.216, 95% CI [1.14, 1.29], p = < .001, indicating 21.6% GMV in DT. Multiple regression analyses explained 29.82% of variability in the mean effect (InVR) at Level-2, and 5% of the variability in the mean effect at Level-3. The mean difference findings support the gender similarity hypothesis, while variation results tend to support the gender differences hypothesis. Limitations and recommendations for future studies are discussed

Predictors of Academic Success in Undergraduate Medical Programs: 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) 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

Creativity in gifted education research: what do we know and what needs to be explored?

2nd World Giftedndess Center International Conferenc