Jarmila Honzíková

Doc. PaedDr. Ph.D.; University of West Bohemia in Pilsen

Faculty Pedagogical, Czech Republic

 

Jan Novotný

PhDr. Ph.D.; J. E. Purkyne University,

Fakulty of Production Technology and Managment, Czech Republic

 

 

TESTING Nonverbal Creativity in Technical Education

 

ABSTRACT

 

Article handles about research creative ability in terms of project Nonverbal creativity in technical education accomplish in terms of grant GAČR 406/07/0109. This project deal with not only research himself nonverbal creativity, but at the same time try to show as this creativity evolve in technically oriented subjects of school educational programmes.

 

KEY WORDS: nonverbal creativity, testing, technical education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Our society underwent many social-economic changes in the past years – changes in ownership relations, working and family environment, as well as changes in the system of social values, which brought many people to situations requiring different way of thinking and different procedures than those common before. Changes in work style in our schools occur with the change of our social environment. Teachers prepare their pupils for life in a society which we don’t know exactly as to what demands on its members it will have and what abilities and skills it will require from them. It is clear, however, that the importance of creative thinking and practice in all spheres of human activities still increases. But it is also clear at the time of scientific and technical development that further society development will be directed towards complicated and demanding creative activities in almost all of us.

Training for creativity should become part of teaching as soon as possible as pupils cannot be taught in creativity in an isolated manner. Technical works only are one of the subjects much suitable for incorporating assignments developing creative abilities in children. Training in creativity is a very difficult activity which will only be managed by a teacher who himself/herself is not only creative but also prepared methodically for managing and guiding such activities. Therefore, it is necessary to lead the students of faculties of education to creativity, train them to be creative teachers, and provide them with such methodical training at the same time so that they themselves are able to train their pupils in creativity. This requires that teachers are knowledgeable of creativity – what creativity is, how it can be released and developed, and what are the individual phases of creativity.

 

 

Project Implementation

At present, the Department of Technical Education of the Faculty of Education takes part in several projects focused just on development of technical creativity and imagination in students of faculties of education, teachers and primary school pupils. They are the following projects: Talent 2007, Elimination of Barriers in Studying, Specific Research in Technical Education, as well as Nonverbal Creativity in Technical Education. This project takes place owing to a grant from GAČR 406/07/0109.

 

Project objectives

The principal objective of the Nonverbal Creativity in Technical Education project is a transversal research of the level of creative abilities in younger pupils. The project also aims at formulating the principles of creative teaching including a historical view. Other objectives include evaluation of the current education schemes and the General Education Programme in terms of creative work and development of a scheme for creative technical works for primary schools. The project objective also is introduction of creative elements into technical subjects, especially for teaching at the first grade of primary schools and at nursery schools. The period of project implementation, given the planned research, was set to two years.

 

CONCEPTUAL AND METHODICAL PROCEDURES OF PROJECT SOLUTION

At first, it was necessary to set a theoretical starting point the core contents of which would be the answers to questions as to what actually is creativity, what is the historical view of this issue, what are the creativity starting points, and what are the creativity factors and levels. It is also necessary to approximate the creativity relation to other science subjects. After creating a theoretical point of view, a transversal research of the nonverbal creative abilities of school-age children was conducted. Barriers to creative work, especially in technically-focused activities, were determined on the basis of this research. After analysing the current status of creativity level at primary schools, a scheme for primary school creative technical works and its application in the General Education Programme were determined.

Students of the Faculty of Education (FPE) of the West-Bohemian University and primary school teachers took part in preparation of this programme. This programme will be tested in practice and it can also be incorporated into distance study programmes. Pedagogical literature will be used to formulate the principles of creative teaching and the General Education Programme will be used for application in practice. The Torrence Figural tests were used for the creative ability research and the Pattern Assembly Test was used to establish the level of technical imagination. The research results should also answer the question whether respondents who achieve satisfactory results in creative thinking tests also achieve satisfactory results in technical imagination. A longitudinal research of creative abilities in primary school respondents was implemented to follow the researches of creative abilities implemented before.

 

 

PATTERN ASSEMBLY TEST

This test was used to determine the level of technical thinking and imagination. It is named to the diagnostic purpose or, in other words, to the type of testing assignments and, essentially, it tests “practical intelligence”. This test features certain specificities that distinguish it from other tests:

Ø    Testees work with a particular material

Ø    Assignments are solvable graphically

Ø    There always are several solution methods

Ø    The assignments themselves motivate to achieve optimum performance

Ø    Assignments are ordered by difficulty

Ø    It is a homogeneous test

Ø    It can be used to test both individuals and groups

Ø    It is a time-saving test – the testing period is 20 minutes

Ø    It is quite objective, highly reliable and adequately valid.

 

Also the administration of this test is well prepared, consisting of a manual, a test sheet, four area patterns, an evaluation key, and standard charts.

 

Test sample

 

Work with the test

As already mentioned above, four area patterns are available for the test (Fig. 2). The respondent’s task is to assemble the patterns to form figures (Fig. 1).

 

Fig. 2 – Area patterns


 

 


Fig. 1 – Test sheet – figures


 


As also already mentioned above, there always are several solutions. Let’s now see how many solutions can be achieved when assembling these four patterns in a shape of trapezium (Fig. 3).

 


Fig. 3 – Possible solutions

 

 

 


It seems at first sight that it is impossible not to find even one of the thirty two solutions provided. But it is so in practice and some respondents do not cope with this assignment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TORRANCE FIGURAL TEST OF CREATIVE THINKING

 

         The Torrance Figural Test of Creative Thinking was selected together with the Pattern Assembly Test for data collection in the research. There have been many critical opinions (Jurčová, Amabile, etc.) on the adequacy of a pencil-paper method for creativity measurement. The criticism focuses in particular of the fact that these tests only measure part of creativity, are not motivating enough for respondents, the time limits may be a barrier for younger testees, and have low informing capacity on potential respondent’s creativity in the meaningful activities of real life. Except for the negatives of the said test, there also are a number of research studies which confirm the validity of these tests (In Lokšová, Lokša, 2001).

The author herself considers the tests to be such that ascertain the capacities of creative thinking. These are considered a constellation of generalized mental capacities that are usually assumed to apply in creative performance.

A question occurs in a figural /pictorial/ test form as to what extent it can be considered to be a test of /creative/ thinking or visual creativity. Here, Torrance argues that these tests are predominantly about evaluation of a concept or idea, which is confirmed with the fact that drawn answers are marked with a verbal title, giving the drawing a deeper or complementing sense. If it is a visual creativity test, the drawing would be the decisive factor, not the idea occurrence frequency (Jurčová, 1984).

         The Torrance Figural Test of Creative Thinking has three parts, each of them being placed separately and given 10 minutes for working out. Let’s familiarize with the respective test parts:

Part I – Figure design

         Every respondent is given a bean-shaped piece of coloured self-adhesive paper /form B/. The respondent sticks this piece of paper onto the reverse page of the test workbook and finishes it to form a figure. The task is to design such a figure where the piece of paper would form an integral part of it.

 


 


Part II – Incomplete figures

This assignment is an adaptation of the Drawing Completion Test developed by Franck (Jurčová, 1984). The technique of incomplete figures is used in various psychological tests as incomplete figures cause certain tension in individuals resulting in their need to finish the figures as simply and easily as possible. In order to create an answer as original as possible, the respondent must undertake a “mental jump to get beyond what is common and ordinary” (Jurčová, 1984). A longing or an urge to “complete the figure” also occurs here. If the subject is not able to resist it, the task is finished prematurely and common replies are given.

The task is to add lines to the incomplete figures so as to form interesting objects or pictures.


 


Part III – Circles


The last part of the test includes 36 circles drawn on two pages. The task is to complete or finish the circles so as to create as many interesting figures as possible. The circles should be the core of everything created by the testees. It is allowed to draw among, inside or outside the circles. Again, the subjects’ effort is to create such things which none of the others would invent. Titles are added below the figures.

 

 

 


Creative Teaching Conception

On the basis of the research undertaken and the literature studied we have attempted to summarize the theoretical starting points for creative teaching:

Ø     Every individual has creative abilities at certain level.

Ø     The creative abilities of individuals vary in focus.

Ø     Creativity is applied by individuals to a various extent and in different activities.

Ø     Individual’s creativity influences the environment.

Ø     Creativity is released and developed in intentionally induced activity.

Ø     The creative teaching conception consists of objectives, methods, forms of work, programmes and procedures aiming at releasing creative abilities and forming creative personalities.

Ø     Subjective innovativeness is the criterion for pupils’ creativity.

Ø     Motivation is an important element for creativity development.

Ø     Problem and project methods are the pillars of creative teaching.

Ø     Creative teachers only can play an important role in creativity development in pupils.

Ø     Evaluation must be individual, humanistic and focused not only on the final product.

 

The entire transversal research forms a theoretical starting point for preparation of the Creative Technical Work programme. The programme is based on a problem and project method and on particular assignments which face pupils with one or more tasks from the area of user skills in various fields of human activities and, naturally, require certain level of creativity and imagination. When coping with the task, pupils learn that school work acquires a particular, useful form, especially in the education area of Man and the World of Work. This area covers a wide range of working activities and technologies, leads pupils to gain user skills in different fields of human activities, and contributes to creating pupils’ life and profession orientation. It also focuses on practical working skills and habits and completes the whole primary education level with an important element necessary for man’s application in life and society. This distinguishes it from other education areas and counter-balances them in a way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Results of the Research of Creative Abilities in Czech Schools

 

         Approximately 1 500 respondents – pupils and pedagogue – took part in the research. The research results were evaluated, processed statistically, and presented here as development curves. Graph No. 1 shows the development of technical creativity (imagination) examined using the Pattern Assembly Test. Graph No. 2 shows the development of creative thinking examined using the Torrance Figural Test of Creative Thinking.

 

Graph 1 – technical creativity

 

Graph 2 – crerative thiking

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

Creativity is a basis for success, not only mental when it helps create surprising and original ideas but also practical when the ideas are implemented. We must not fear to be flexible and original and to change established standards and traditional views of problem situation solution. We must use every opportunity to be creative and create stimulating environment for such activities. Only then we, and therefore also students and primary school pupils, will manage to release the entire creative potential the nature has endowed us with. After all, the human brain is much more efficient than the most powerful computer; it only needs to be turned on.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

1.     HONZÍKOVÁ, J., MACH, P; NOVOTNÝ, J.  et al.  Alternativní přístupy k technické výchově. 1st Edition. Pilsen: UofWB, 2007. 266 p. + CD. ISBN 978-80-7043-626-4.

2.     HONZÍKOVÁ, J.; NOVOTNÝ, J. Project-Based Education and its implementation in acquiring psychomotor skills on Primary School. In Naučno-teoretičeskij i praktičeskij žurnal Sovremennyj naučnyj vestnik – filologia, psychologia, pedagogika. Rusko, Belgorod: 2008, roč., No. 7 (33), s.64 - 72, ISSN 1561-6886.

3.     NOVOTNÝ, J., HONZÍKOVÁ, J. Teaching project direct to a woodwork in technical subjects at basic school. - In Technical creativity in schools curricula with the form of project learning. From Idea the Product. Zbornik prispevkov procedings - 5th International Science Symposium. Portorož, Slovenia: Združenie pedagogov technične ustvarjalnosti Slovenije: Somaru, 2007. 4 s. ISBN 978-961-91750-7-1. s. - 127 - 131.

4.     HONZÍKOVÁ, J. Nonverbální tvořivost v technické výchově. 1st Edition. Pilsen: UofWB, 2008.  103 p.

 

5.     HONZÍKOVÁ, J. : Tvořivé myšlení na primární škole. – In :  sborník z XXVI. International Colloquium on the Management of Educational Process aimed at current issues in science, education and creative thinking development. Sborník abstrakt, příspěvky v el. verzi na CD-ROMu. - Brno : University of Defence Faculty of Economics and Management, 2008. - 10 s. - ISBN 978-80-7231-511-6. ( abstrakt str. 52 )