textAlthough most researchers focus on scientists’ creativity, students’ scientific
creativity should be considered, especially for high school and college students. It is
generally assumed that most professional creators in science emerge from amateur
creators. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship
between students’ scientific creativity and selected variables including creativity,
problem finding, formulating hypotheses, science achievement, the nature of
science, and attitudes toward science for finding significant predictors of eleventh
grade students’ scientific creativity.
A total of 130 male eleventh-grade students in three biology classes
participated in this study. The main instruments included the Test of Divergent
Thinking (TDT) for creativity measurement, the Creativity Rating Scale (CRS) and
the Creative Activities and Accomplishments Check Lists (CAACL) for measurement
of scientific creativity, the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale (NSKS) for measurement of the nature of science, and the Science Attitude Inventory II (SAI II)
for measurement of attitudes toward science. In addition, two instruments on
measuring students’ abilities of problem finding and abilities of formulating
hypotheses were developed by the researcher in this study.
Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment
correlations, and stepwise multiple regressions. The major findings suggested the
following: (1) students’ scientific creativity significantly correlated with some of
selected variables such as attitudes toward science, problem finding, formulating
hypotheses, the nature of science, resistance to closure, originality, and elaboration;
(2) four significant predictors including attitudes toward science, problem finding,
resistance to closure, and originality accounted for 48 % of the variance of students’
scientific creativity; (3) there were big differences between students with a higher
and a lower degree of scientific creativity on the variables of family support, career
images, and readings about science; and (4) many students were confused about the
creative and moral levels on NSKS and the concept of “almighty of science” and
purposes of science on SAI II.
The results of this study may provide a more holistic and integrative
interpretation of students’ scientific creativity and propose better ways of evaluating
students’ scientific creativity. In addition, the research results may encourage
teachers to view scientific creativity as an ability that can be enhanced through
various means in classroom science teaching.Science and Mathematics Educatio