A STUDY ON CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS OF GIFTED CHILDREN AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT OVER HALF A YEAR IN THE BIOLOGY EDUCATION PROJECT “KOLUMBUS-KIDS”
A STUDY ON CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS OF GIFTED CHILDREN AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT OVER HALF A YEAR IN THE BIOLOGY EDUCATION PROJECT “KOLUMBUS-KIDS”

Summary/Abstract: This paper describes the development of a test concerned with creative thinking in science education. It serves as a measuring instrument in the science education project “Kolumbus-Kids” at Bielefeld University and is based on a test for the analysis of deductive and creative thinking. Creating the test included the age-appropriate adjustment of the items as well as the adaptation of the questions to the context of science education. The central thesis concerns the connection of creative thinking and intelligence. The relationship is of particular interest in the project “Kolumbus-Kids”, since this project is catered to gifted pupils. Means for promoting creative thinking skills were studied in the literature and could be compared with the project’s didactic concept, thus allowing the assumption that the lessons of “Kolumbus-Kids” indeed enhance the pupils’ creative thinking. With regard to these findings, the central hypothesis stating that pupils of grades four and six will significantly increase their performance can be verified. The significance of gender-specific differences is also examined, but these seem to have no influence. Both boys’ and girls’ performance increased significantly over the six months of participation in “Kolumbus-Kids”

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