Share:


Mental models and creative thinking skills in students’ physics learning

    John Rafafy Batlolona   Affiliation
    ; Markus Diantoro Affiliation

Abstract

The study of mental models and creative thinking skills in students’ physics learning with the problem-based learning model has been scarce. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between mental models and creative thinking skills in high school students. Many previous research findings explain a relationship between mental models and creative thinking skills among students at the university level and workers. This mixed-methods study was conducted on high school students in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, aged between 14 and 15 years. The instrument used is in the form of mental models and creative thinking skills test questions. This finding explains no relationship between mental models and creative thinking skills because learning has not fully empowered mental models and creative thinking skills. On the other hand, learning at the previous level, students’ knowledge is still fragmented, so that is incomplete. Therefore, at the high school level, they need help to improve their mental models and creative thinking skills. This finding implies that teachers in developing learning materials, tools, and instruments must pay attention to the level of student knowledge so that learning can be more optimal.

Keyword : creative thinking skills, mental models, physics education, problem-based learning, solid elasticity

How to Cite
Batlolona, J. R., & Diantoro, M. (2023). Mental models and creative thinking skills in students’ physics learning. Creativity Studies, 16(2), 433–447. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2023.14743
Published in Issue
Jun 23, 2023
Abstract Views
757
PDF Downloads
811
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Adbo, K., & Taber, K. S. (2009). Learners’ mental models of the particle nature of matter: a study of 16-year-old Swedish science students. International Journal of Science Education, 31(6), 757–786. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690701799383

Ahi, B. (2016). A study to determine the mental models in preschool children’s conceptualization of a desert environment. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 8(3), 333–350.

Barrett, J. D., Peterson, D. R., Hester, K. S., Robledo, I. C., Day, E. A., Hougen, D. P., & Mumford, M. D. (2013). Thinking about applications: Effects on mental models and creative problem-solving. Creativity Research Journal, 25(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2013.783758

Bancong, H., & Song, J. (2020). Exploring how students construct collaborative thought experiments during physics problem-solving activities. Science and Education, 29, 617–645. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-020-00129-3

Brookes, D. T., & Etkina, E. (2015). The importance of language in students’ reasoning about heat in thermodynamic processes. International Journal of Science Education, 37(5–6), 759–779. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1025246

Canlas, I. Ph. (2021). Using visual representations in identifying students’ preconceptions in friction. Research in Science and Technological Education, 39(2), 156–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2019.1660630

Casakin, H., & Badke-Schaub, P. (2015). Mental models and creativity in engineering and architectural design teams. In J. S. Gero & S. Hanna (Eds.), Design computing and cognition ’14 (pp. 155–171). Springer International Publishing Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14956-1_9

Ceylan, Ö. (2022). The effect of the waste management themed summer program on gifted students’ environmental attitude, creative thinking skills and critical thinking dispositions. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 22(1), 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2020.1859393

Chen, J., & Guo, W. (2020). Emotional intelligence can make a difference: The impact of principals’ emotional intelligence on teaching strategy mediated by instructional leadership. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 48(1), 82–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143218781066

Childers, G., & Jones, M. G. (2015). Students as virtual scientists: An exploration of students’ and teachers’ perceived realness of a remote electron microscopy investigation. International Journal of Science Education, 37(15), 2433–2452. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1082043

Chopik, W. J., Bremner, R. H., Johnson, D. J., & Giasson, H. L. (2018). Age differences in age perceptions and developmental transitions. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00067

Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 392–414. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.392

Curşeu, P. L., & Brink, ten Th. (2016). Minority dissent as teamwork related mental model: Implications for willingness to dissent and group creativity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 22, 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2016.09.002

Denizhan, Y. (2020). Evolution of the mental model: From archaic myths to modern myths. Biosystems, 198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104242

Greefrath, G., Oldenburg, R., Siller, H.-S., Ulm, V., & Weigand, H.-G. (2021). Basic mental models of integrals: Theoretical conception, development of a test instrument, and first results. ZDM – Mathematics Education, 53, 649–661. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-020-01207-0

Gregorcic, B., & Haglund, J. (2021). Conceptual blending as an interpretive lens for student engagement with technology: Exploring celestial motion on an interactive whiteboard. Research in Science Education, 51(2), 235–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-018-9794-8

Guzman Corpuz, de E., & Rebello, N. S. (2019). Refining students’ explanations of an unfamiliar physical phenomenon-microscopic friction. Research in Science Education, 49, 1177–1211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-017-9650-2

Haglund, J., Melander, E., Weiszflog, M., & Andersson, S. (2017). University physics students’ ideas of thermal radiation expressed in open laboratory activities using infrared cameras. Research in Science and Technological Education, 35(3), 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2017.1318362

Hester, K. S., Robledo, I. C., Barrett, J. D., Peterson, D. R., Hougen, D. P., Day, E. A., & Mumford, M. D. (2012). Causal analysis to enhance creative problem-solving: Performance and effects on mental models. Creativity Research Journal, 24(2–3), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2012.677249

Hofgaard Lycke, K., Grøttum, P., & Strømsø, H. I. (2006). Student learning strategies, mental models and learning outcomes in problem-based and traditional curricula in medicine. Medical Teacher, 28(8), 717–722. https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590601105645

Hurtado-Bermúdez, S., & Romero-Abrio, A. (2023). The effects of combining virtual laboratory and advanced technology research laboratory on university students’ conceptual understanding of electron microscopy. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(2), 1126–1141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1821716

Ifenthaler, D. (2006). Diagnose lernabhängiger Veränderung mentaler Modelle: Entwicklung der SMD-Technologie als methodologisches Verfahren zur relationalen, strukturellen und semantischen Analyse individueller Modellkonstruktionen [PhD/Doctoral Thesis, University of Freiburg]. https://madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/38711/1/Diagnose_lernabh%C3%A4ngiger_Ver%C3%A4nderungen_mentaler_Modelle._Entwicklung_der_SMD-Technologie_als_methodologisches_Verfahren_zur_relationalen%2C_strukturellen_und_semantischen_Analyse_individueller_Modellkonstruktionen.pdf

Leggett, N. (2017). Early childhood creativity: Challenging educators in their role to intentionally develop creative thinking in children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45, 845–853. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0836-4

Lin, J.-W. (2017). A cross-grade study validating the evolutionary pathway of student mental models in electric circuits. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(7), 3099–3137. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00707a

López, V., & Pintó, R. (2017). Identifying secondary-school students’ difficulties when reading visual representations displayed in physics simulations. International Journal of Science Education, 39(10), 1353–1380. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1332441

Lucas, B. J., & Mai, K. M. (2022). Illumination and elbow grease: A theory of how mental models of the creative process influence creativity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2021.104107

Marques Santos, C., Uitdewilligen, S., & Passos, A. M. (2015). Why is your team more creative than mine? The influence of shared mental models on intra-group conflict, team creativity and effectiveness. Creativity and Innovation Management, 24(4), 645–658. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12129

McCrum, D. P. (2017). Evaluation of creative problem-solving abilities in undergraduate structural engineers through ınterdisciplinary problem-based learning. European Journal of Engineering Education, 42(6), 684–700. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2016.1216089

Moutinho, S., Moura, R., & Vasconcelos, C. (2014). Mental models about seismic effects: Students’ profile based comparative analysis. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 14(3), 391–415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9572-7

Mumford, M. D., Hester, K. S., Robledo, I. C., Peterson, D. R., Day, E. A., Hougen, D. F., & Barrett, J. D. (2012). Mental models and creative problem-solving: The relationship of objective and subjective model attributes. Creativity Research Journal, 24(4), 311–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2012.730008

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2018). PISA 2015: Results in focus. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development; Asian Development Bank. (2015). Reviews of national policies for education. Education in Indonesia: Rising to the challenge. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development Publishing.

Petrides, K. V., Frederickson, N., & Furnham, A. (2004). The role of trait emotional ıntelligence in academic performance and deviant behavior at school. Personality and Individual Differences, 36(2), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00084-9

Pitts, Ch., Anderson, R., & Haney, M. (2018). Measures of ınstruction for creative engagement: Making metacognition, modeling and creative thinking visible. Learning Environments Research, 21, 43–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-017-9238-9

Qarareh, A. O. (2016). The effect of using the constructivist learning model in teaching science on the achievement and scientific thinking of 8th grade students. International Education Studies, 9(7), 178–196. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v9n7p178

Ritter, S. M., & Mostert, N. (2017). Enhancement of creative thinking skills using a cognitive-based creativity training. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 1, 243–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-016-0002-3

Salari, M., Roozbehi, A., Zarifi, A., & Tarmizi, R. A. (2018). Pure PBL, Hybrid PBL and lecturing: Which one is more effective in developing cognitive skills of undergraduate students in pediatric nursing course? BMC Medical Education, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1305-0

Schut, A., Mechelen, van M., Klapwijk, R. M., Gielen, M., & Vries, de M. J. (2022). Towards constructive design feedback dialogues: Guiding peer and client feedback to stimulate children’s creative thinking. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 32, 99–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-020-09612-y

Seibert, S. A. (2021). Problem-based learning: A strategy to foster generation Z’s critical thinking and perseverance. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 16(1), 85–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2020.09.002

Stains, M., & Sevian, H. (2015). Uncovering implicit assumptions: A large-scale study on students’ mental models of diffusion. Research in Science Education, 45, 807–840. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-014-9450-x

Tawarah, H. M. (2017). The degree to which teachers practicing teaching in Shobak university college by using creative thinking skills as perceived by students. Journal of Social Sciences, 51(1–3), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2017.1305578

Toader, A. F., & Kessler, Th. (2018). Team mental models, team goal orientations, and information elaboration, predicting team creative performance. Creativity Research Journal, 30(4), 380–390.

Torrance, E. P. (1990). Torrance tests of creative thinking. Scholastic Testing Service.

Wanders, F. H. K., Bert Dijkstra, A., Maslowski, R., & Veen, van der I. (2020). The effect of teacher-student and student-student relationships on the societal involvement of students. Research Papers in Education, 35(3), 266–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1568529

Wasserman, J. A., & Koban, K. (2019). Bugs on the brain: A mental model matching approach to cognitive skill acquisition in a strategy game. Journal of Expertise, 2(2), 121–139.

Xiao, E., Shen, J., & Harris, P. (2022). Children with siblings differ from only children in their sharing behaviour. Early Child Development and Care, 192(7), 1007–1019. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2020.1829610

Yildiz, C., & Guler Yildiz, T. (2021). Exploring the relationship between creative thinking and scientific process skills of preschool children. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2021.100795

Yogantari, P. (2015, 29 August). Indentifikasi kesulitan siswa dalam pembelajaran fisika. İn Seminar Nasional Fisika dan Pembelajarannya 2015: Peran Fisika dan Pendidikan Fisika dalam Menyongsong Masyarakat Ekonomi ASEAN (MEA) (pp. 7–11). Malang, Indonesia. Pt. Era Mitra Perdana.