ERIC Number: EJ1101978
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Jul
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1571-0068
EISSN: N/A
Teaching for Creativity by Science Teachers in Grades 5-10
Al-Abdali, Nasser S.; Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, v14 suppl 2 p251-268 Jul 2016
This classroom observation study explored how science teachers (N = 22) teach for creativity in grades 5-10 in Oman. We designed an observation form with 4 main categories that targeted the instructional practices related to teaching for creativity: questioning strategy, teacher's responses to students' ideas, classroom activities to support creativity, and whole-lesson methods that foster creativity. An open-ended survey was also designed to explore participants' justifications for their instructional decisions and practices. The findings indicate that the overall level of teaching for creativity was low and that participants' performance was the highest for teacher's responses to students' ideas category and the lowest for classroom activities to support creativity category. We observed that a teacher-centered approach with instructional practices geared toward preparing students for examinations was dominant and that these science teachers were bound to the textbook, following cookbook-style activities. Participants believed that they did not have enough time to cover the content and teach for creativity and that they were not prepared to teach for creativity. Based on these findings, we recommend that programs be developed to prepare science teachers to teach for creativity.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Creativity, Science Teachers, Science Education, Science Instruction, Observation, Elementary School Science, Secondary School Science, Educational Practices, Teaching Methods, Questioning Techniques, Teacher Student Relationship, Classroom Communication, Class Activities, Teacher Surveys, Teacher Response, Textbooks
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Oman
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A