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Training for fluency, flexibility and originality in native Indian children

University of British Columbia

In the last twenty years a great deal of research into training for creativity has been conducted (Blank, 1982). Guilford (1950, 1959, 1962) and Warren and Davis (1969) reported that productivity increased with training for creativity using the morphological synthesis technique. Research in creativity training has been concerned generally with white middle class school children. There has been no research on training for creativity in Canadian Native Indians (Blank, 1982). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training for creativity on fluency, flexibility, and originality of Canadian Native Indian children. Children from the Chahalis Indian Reserve of British Columbia (grades three through six) were assigned to control (n=7) and experimental (n=7) groups. The control group received no training for creativity while, the experimental group experienced two weeks of training (20 minutes per day) for creativity with blocks, sticks, and tanagrams. Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were used to assess creativity. Pre-training scores of the control and experimental groups were compared using one-way ANOVAs. Group differences were deemed non-significant. These results indicated that the assignment of children to the groups was not biased in favour of the more creative versus the less creative and that the post-training results of the groups could be compared for gains in potential creativity since both groups had exhibited similar levels of creativity before training. The results of post-training one-way ANOVAs indicated significant gains in originality scores of the experimental group for the Incomplete Figures Test and the Circles Test. ANCOVAs, which included pre-training scores as covariates, had the same outcomes as post-training one-way ANOVAs. Paired t-tests comparing pre- and post-training scores within groups indicated that there were no significant improvements in control group test scores. The experimental group showed significant, improvements in flexibility and originality scores of the Circles Test and in originality scores of the Incomplete Figures Test. Factors which influenced the results of this study were discussed and suggestions for further research were given. In spite of these factors, the results of the data analyses indicated that creativity of Native Indian children will improve with training.

Text

2010-06-07

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/25503

Special Education

University of British Columbia

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