Fostering creative thinking skills through digital storytelling

Abstract

Mastering creative thinking skills (CTS) is crucial for enhancing students’ science conceptual understanding. However, conventional teaching prioritizes linear thinking over the three sub-CTS essential to science learning: associative, visual, and divergent thinking. Weaknesses in these three sub-CTS cause students to have misconceptions, difficulty in creating mental images, and an inability to generate ideas on abstract scientific concepts. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Digital Storytelling Science Creative (DSSC) module in enhancing these three sub-CTS, based on the topic of acids and bases. The ASSURE instructional design model guided the DSSC module design and development process. This quasi-experimental design study involved 63 eighth-grade students. Analysis of two-way MANCOVA using the data collected through the administered Creative Thinking Skills Test revealed that the DSSC module group performed significantly better than the control group in divergent thinking. However, the DSSC module did not significantly affect students’ associative and visual thinking or gender.

Keywords

• acids and bases
• creative thinking skills
• digital storytelling
• science education