A Study on Changes in Students" Perceptions of Creativity in Creative Problem-Solving Course

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in the perception of creativity among college students who participated in a creative problem-solving course. The research method involved writing essays on creativity in the course, and text analysis was conducted using these essays. The frequency of the occurrence of keywords was calculated, and text centrality, network, and keyword-centered content analyses were conducted. The results of the study showed that the student's perception of creativity changed from the idea that creativity exists only in certain people to the idea that it is an ability that anyone can demonstrate through training or education. Also, learners came to think of themselves as creative people. Students broke away from the idea that creativity is vaguely difficult and recognized that problem-solving is possible through knowledge and experience and that creative products can evolve through a systematic thinking process. Before the creativity course, existing ideas were an obstacle to demonstrating creativity, but after the course, learners recognized that flexible thinking makes it possible to come up with various ideas. Based on these research results, educational content can be structured according to the changes in the perception of creativity, and ways to improve class satisfaction can be found. To change the learners' perception of creativity and increase educational satisfaction, creativity education comprising the use of various thinking tools and affording the experience of problem-solving processes based on an understanding of creativity is needed.