Thinking Skills and Creativity最新文献

{"title":"Promoting undergraduates’ computational thinking in a knowledge building environment","authors":"Zuokun Li ,&nbsp;Shaoming Chai ,&nbsp;Pey-Tee Emily Oon","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102131","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cultivating computational thinking (CT) in higher education remains challenging. Despite diverse pedagogical practices, CT’s abstract and multifaceted nature often hinders effective teaching and assessment. Knowledge building (KB) positions students as active constructors of knowledge who collaboratively create artifacts—objects to think with—that help externalize and refine their CT understanding and practices. Although KB shows promise for enhancing CT, its pedagogical use in higher education is still underexplored. This study proposes a framework for designing a knowledge building environment (KBE) based on KB theory that represents CT through artifact creation and evaluates its effectiveness in supporting undergraduates’ CT development from both process- and outcome-oriented perspectives. Forty-eight undergraduates from a Chinese university were randomly assigned to ten groups. Each group, guided by KB principles, engaged in problem-solving within the designed KBE to create computational artifacts through CT tasks. Data were collected from online discourse, pre- and post-test CT competency scales, and final artifacts. We employed nonparametric tests and correlation analysis to examine the data. Findings from both process and outcome data show that engaging in CT tasks—abstraction &amp; decomposition, data practices, algorithmic thinking, automation, modeling, &amp; simulation, and evaluation &amp; generalization—within a well-designed KBE significantly improved students’ CT skills. The analysis revealed differences in student engagement and performance on these CT tasks, as reflected in their discourse and group products. Following their participation in CT tasks within the KBE, students’ CT competencies—algorithmic thinking, cooperativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving—improved significantly, whereas creativity showed no comparable gains. Our study found a significant positive correlation between undergraduates’ engagement in CT tasks and their performance on computational artifacts, but no such correlation with their perceived CT competencies. This study informs CT instruction grounded in KB theory that fosters undergraduates’ CT development and emphasizes the use of combined assessment approaches to better understand their learning within KBEs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102131"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145957717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supervisory paradoxical leadership and graduate students’ creative behavior: A multiple mediation model","authors":"Xiyue Zhang ,&nbsp;Qifeng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102132","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102132","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The complexity and rapid transformation of the current higher education environment require supervisors to demonstrate paradoxical yet complementary leadership behaviors, such as providing structured guidance alongside flexible support, and balancing self-direction with care for others. Grounded in Social Information Processing Theory, this study explores the impact of Supervisory Paradoxical Leadership (SPL) on graduate students’ creative behavior and examines the mediating effects of creative role identity, relationship quality, and psychological safety. Based on a survey of 428 graduate students from a leading university in China, the proposed model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that SPL significantly and positively predicts graduate students’ creative behavior, and that creative role identity, relationship quality, and psychological safety serve as parallel mediators in this relationship. Among the three mediators, psychological safety exhibited the strongest indirect effect, followed by creative role identity and relationship quality. These findings reveal the internal mechanisms by which supervisory paradoxical leadership fosters students’ creative behavior through shaping their role cognition, relational perceptions, and psychological experiences. The study provides both theoretical insights and practical implications for enhancing supervisory strategies and fostering creativity among graduate students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102132"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145981501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating visible thinking routines into an EFL writing class to scaffold and foster critical thinking and writing","authors":"Chi-An Jennifer Tung","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102141","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102141","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Critical thinking (CT) plays a vital role in helping EFL writers develop, refine, and elaborate their ideas throughout the complex process of writing. However, fostering CT in Confucian Heritage EFL writing classrooms remains a persistent challenge. To address this issue and improve students’ writing performance, this mixed-methods study implemented an instructional design that integrated Visible Thinking Routines (VTRs) from Harvard Project Zero into a semester-long writing curriculum. The participants were 15 second-year university students in Taiwan. Data were collected through seven instruments, including three quantitative measures and four qualitative sources. Quantitative findings showed significant gains in four CT categories—clarity, relevance, depth, and logic—as well as improvements in students’ content development and language use. Qualitative analyses revealed four themes illustrating how VTRs mediated students’ CT and writing performance over time, along with three facilitating and two constraining factors that impacted CT development and writing outcomes. The study concludes with pedagogical implications for instructional design and offers directions for future research on CT, VTRs, and EFL writing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102141"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reading as a catalyst for creative attitude: evidence from rural China and the cognitive pathways linking literacy and innovation","authors":"Lidong Zhang,&nbsp;Hongyu Guan,&nbsp;Yijia Li,&nbsp;Wenting Liu,&nbsp;Fang Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102140","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102140","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how reading enhances the creative attitude of rural children, drawing on longitudinal data (2015–2017) from fourth-grade students in 120 primary schools in Jiangxi Province, China. Reading achievement shows a significant positive association with creative attitude score, and this relationship remains robust after accounting for individual, family, teacher, and school characteristics. Instrumental variable estimates and lagged models further support the influence of reading on creative attitude. Mechanism analyses indicate that reading enhances creative attitude by strengthening self-efficacy, encouraging more engaged reading behaviour, and enhancing comprehension and logical reasoning skills. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the positive effects of reading are more pronounced among students who attend reading courses, benefit from supportive home reading environments, have access to reading spaces, participate in reading activities, come from better-off households, or achieve higher reading scores. By providing rare longitudinal evidence from under-resourced rural China, this study not only confirms that reading enhances creative attitude but also clarifies the channels and conditions under which this effect is strongest. The findings underscore the role of reading as a powerful pathway for improving creative attitude among rural children and highlight the importance of strengthening reading skills in settings with limited educational resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102140"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development and validation of a preformal test for mathematical proof competence","authors":"Xenia Stein ,&nbsp;Katerina Tsarava ,&nbsp;Benjamin Goecke","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102139","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102139","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Proving is a core part of mathematics, prompting educators to push for earlier inclusion in curricula. Thus, an appropriate test for proof competence is needed already at the primary school level. The Preformal Proving Test (PfPT), introduced here, is an online assessment covering proof in Boolean Logic, Set Theory, and Elementary Number Theory. Designed without formal language and prior knowledge requisites, it ensures accessibility for children. We present the findings from two studies: an online pilot study (<em>n</em> = 409, 42% identifying as female; <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>M</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>a</mi><mi>g</mi><mi>e</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>= 9.28, <em>SD</em> = .67) and an on-site validation study (<em>n</em>=180, 36% identifying as female; <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>M</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>a</mi><mi>g</mi><mi>e</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> = 9.80, <em>SD</em> = .63) examining internal consistency, factor structure, and validity measures like reasoning and intelligence. Results showed diverse item difficulty and promising psychometrics that merit further investigation. Given the PfPT’s ease of administration in online and classroom settings, it is a valuable tool for future primary math research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102139"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating unplugged computational thinking activities into elementary social studies education: A framework for pre-service teacher training","authors":"Esra Özcan,&nbsp;Tülin Haşlaman","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102148","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102148","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Unplugged computational thinking activities offer a cost-effective and accessible method for teaching computational thinking skills without relying on computers. These activities use hands-on, interactive approaches, such as puzzles, games, storytelling, and role-playing, to introduce critical computational concepts like abstraction, algorithms, decomposition, and pattern recognition. This study explores the integration of such activities into elementary social studies education. An 8-week program with 28 pre-service teachers was conducted, including hands-on activities and lesson plan development. At the end of the implementation, pre-service teachers were asked to prepare lesson plans integrating unplugged computational thinking (CT) into social studies lessons, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 volunteer pre-service teachers. The findings from the lesson plans demonstrated that the pre-service teachers successfully integrated unplugged CT into social studies lessons. The data obtained from the semi-structured interviews revealed that these activities promoted problem-solving, critical thinking, and deeper engagement with social studies content. This study contributes to the limited research on computational thinking in social studies education by providing a replicable framework for interdisciplinary practices and encouraging educators to integrate computational thinking into social studies to enrich students' overall learning experiences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102148"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring complex problem-solving in vietnamese students: An investigation of performance data and process data","authors":"De Van Vo ,&nbsp;Viet Thanh Huynh ,&nbsp;Greiff Samuel ,&nbsp;Geraldine Mooney Simmie","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates Vietnamese undergraduates' complex problem-solving (CPS) abilities and strategies by analysing both performance and process data. A sample of 589 participants completed computer-based CPS assessments, with problem-solving proficiency evaluated using frameworks adapted from the PISA 2012 cycle. The findings revealed students tended to perform better in the exploration phase but faced challenges when applying that knowledge to derive effective solutions. Male students demonstrated an advantage in exploring, gathering, and processing information essential by engaging in more frequent interactions or operations during the task. The link between student persistence and performance varies depending on the model’s structure. The number of interactions is a stronger predictor of performance than time-on-task. A majority of students (70%) lacked effective strategy, “Vary-One-Thing-At-A-Time” (VOTAT) strategy, for model-based tasks, though males were more active in exploration. The study also identified habitual visual scanning and interaction patterns during the exploration stage, which aligned with conventional left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading habits. These patterns suggest a systematic interaction style, potentially influenced by visual salience, perceived importance, or established scanning heuristics. These findings provide valuable insights into students' CPS abilities, strategic approaches, and behavioural patterns. The study concludes by discussing instructional and practical frameworks to enhance and assess problem-solving competence within educational contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102138"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145981500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic susceptibility in problem finding: The effect of COMT haplotypes and maternal parenting style","authors":"Yan Su,&nbsp;Weixing Yang,&nbsp;Si Si,&nbsp;Jinghuan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Problem Finding (PF) refers to the ability enabling individuals to identify and frame valuable problems. As an initial stage of the creative process, PF is crucial for creative performance. Empirical studies have suggested that PF training can substantially enhance creative performance. To better clarify its origins and influencing factors, it is necessary to investigate PF from the perspective of gene–environment (G×E) interactions. However, this research area remains largely underexplored. Neuroscience research has shown that dopamine-related brain regions are crucial for PF, and thus, the <em>COMT</em> gene, which regulates dopamine metabolism, may represent a potential genetic basis. Given the reliability of haplotype-based approaches for studying complex traits, this study adopted three functional <em>COMT</em> haplotypes (rs6269–rs4633–rs4818–rs4680) as genetic markers: GCGG (Low Pain Sensitivity, LPS), ATCA (Average Pain Sensitivity, APS), and ACCG (High Pain Sensitivity, HPS). We first examined the direct association between <em>COMT</em> haplotypes and PF. Subsequently, hierarchical and re-parameterized regression analyses were performed to examine the potential interactions between <em>COMT</em> haplotypes and maternal parenting styles. Results showed that maternal authoritative parenting improved PF originality in LPS/LPS carriers, whereas maternal authoritarian parenting reduced PF originality in both LPS/LPS carriers and non-APS carriers. These interaction effects aligned with the Differential Susceptibility model, indicating that the impact of maternal parenting on PF performance differed depending on the <em>COMT</em> haplotype individuals carried. Overall, the findings provide novel evidence for the genetic basis of PF and offer a theoretical groundwork for tailoring family-based approaches to foster PF based on individuals’ genetic susceptibility.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102136"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated STEM-based mathematical problem-solving skills of students: The role of prior mathematical knowledge and text comprehension skills","authors":"Ijtihadi Kamilia Amalina ,&nbsp;Tibor Vidákovich ,&nbsp;Aigul Akhmetova ,&nbsp;Peter Brečka","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102149","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102149","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Success in mathematical problem-solving integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) depends on students’ knowledge of mathematical concepts and their understanding of task situations. However, the influence of these skills may vary depending on item difficulty and students’ levels of prior mathematical knowledge and text comprehension skills. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of integrated STEM-based mathematical problem-solving items and explore how differences in students’ prior mathematical knowledge, text comprehension skills, and item difficulty levels relate to their performance on such tasks. A total of 1067 Indonesian middle school students participated in this study through tests. Data were analyzed using Rasch analysis, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression. The results revealed that items involving complex language and mathematics concept, particularly those requiring applications, were categorized as difficult. Additionally, students with high or very high levels of both prior mathematical knowledge and text comprehension skills were more impacted by their text comprehension skills when solving problems of varying difficulty. In contrast, students with lower levels of prior mathematical knowledge relied more on their mathematical knowledge in solving those problems. These results have implications for designing interventions and tasks that consider about problem characteristics, students ability levels, and the differential impact of these abilities on problem-solving performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102149"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Technology-enhanced creativity and entrepreneurship curricula in higher education: Systematic review from the perspective of self-determination theory","authors":"Xintong Li ,&nbsp;Xiaojing Weng ,&nbsp;Qing Qu","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102144","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102144","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the widespread application of educational technology and the changing demands for entrepreneurship driven by socio-economic development, higher education faces the need for reform and evolution in entrepreneurship education. Currently, researchers are utilising technologies to design entrepreneurship curricula for achieving various learning objectives in entrepreneurship education. Although research focusing on the impact of technology on students’ abilities and performance is common, there is little research that particularly investigates how to utilise technology to design entrepreneurship curricula that meet students’ specific psychological needs and integrate creative skills into the outcomes of the curricula. To fill this research gap, we selected 30 empirical studies for a literature review analysis and employed Self-Determination Theory as the framework to examine how the design of technology-enhanced entrepreneurship curricula meets students’ basic psychological needs, and to explore the impact of such curriculum design on students’ creativity and entrepreneurship development. The research findings indicate that technology-enhanced entrepreneurship curricula can meet students’ needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in different ways. These curricula are designed to effectively enhance students’ enthusiasm, motivation, and attitudes towards entrepreneurship, strengthen their willingness to start a business, and equip them with a range of entrepreneurial skills. Meanwhile, they stimulate students’ creativity and promote a tendency towards entrepreneurship. Our research findings also present challenges of technology-enhanced entrepreneurship curricula regarding students’ participation in learning and digital literacy. We proposed valuable insights for improving business practices in technology-enhanced entrepreneurship curricula.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102144"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}