{"title":"How assignment deadlines and guidelines shape creativity, motivation, and quality: Perspectives from music-technology students","authors":"Eldad Tsabary , Donna Hewitt","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102073","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Educators in creative disciplines face a persistent challenge: balancing structured guidance (e.g., deadlines, guidelines) with the flexibility necessary for fostering originality. This study investigates how tertiary music and music-technology students perceive the impact of deadlines and structural guidelines on their creativity, motivation, and work quality. Employing a qualitative design with open-ended surveys (n = 35), we analyzed 9,355 words of student responses through grounded theory, supplemented by post-hoc quantitative categorization. Findings reveal that 74 % of students associated deadlines with heightened motivation, yet their effects on creativity were polarized: 46 % reported enhanced focus, while 31 % cited constrained exploration. Structural guidelines were similarly divisive, viewed as clarifying (63 %) or restrictive (34 %). Crucially, students’ subjective definitions of creativity and motivation mediated these outcomes—those framing creativity as problem-solving thrived under deadlines, while proponents of unrestricted experimentation found them stifling. Motivation rooted in personal investment drove sustained effort, whereas external pressure led to stress-driven compliance. Grounded theory analysis uncovered an interconnected academic ecosystem, where task type, workload, and emotional states dynamically shaped engagement. The study advocates for structured uncertainty in pedagogy—designing adaptable frameworks that harmonize accountability with artistic autonomy. By centering student voices, this research underscores the need for educators to align constraints with learners’ evolving conceptualizations of creativity, ensuring pedagogical structures catalyze rather than inhibit creativity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 102073"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145747206","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":"Making failure desired during learning – A quasi-experimental study","authors":"Tanmay Sinha","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102094","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102094","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One hundred and nineteen ninth-grade students engaged in one of two preparatory interventions – growth mindset or utility value – aimed at increasing the desirability of failure in learning during a quasi-experimental study. An additional fifty-one students participated in a control condition that offered no such preparation. Everyone then underwent a standard productive failure learning task where they ideated to solve an open-ended math problem prior to receiving a formal lecture on the targeted concept. Following mixed-methods analysis, my empirical results for the growth mindset and utility value conditions showed improvements in students’ beliefs about failure and their math expectancies, and similar persistence behaviors during problem-solving (compared to the control condition). Posttest performance following the lecture did not differ across the three conditions. With this work, I bring together complementary lines of research on low-cost and scalable motivational interventions in learning, typically applied to improve engagement with learning content, to contemporary learning sciences pedagogies like productive failure, in the novel service of making failure desired for students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 102094"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145690749","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":"Epistemic, emotional, and effective stance strategies for the linguistic articulation of visual critical thinking in interculturally responsive EFL instruction","authors":"Elena Dominguez Romero , Jelena Bobkina","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Visual and critical thinking are widely recognised as core competences for the twenty-first century; however, their linguistic realisation — particularly within EFL classrooms — remains insufficiently addressed. This article presents a framework for linguistic stance instruction that enables learners to articulate interpretive and evaluative insights through epistemic, emotional, and effective stance strategies. The framework integrates explicit stance pedagogy with interculturally responsive teaching and Visual Thinking Routines (VTRs), thereby fostering both critical stance literacy and intercultural competence. Piloted with 24 pre-service EFL teachers at the Complutense University of Madrid, the framework was evaluated through a sample lesson and structured interviews. Participants reported increased confidence in applying linguistic stance strategies and valued the framework’s clarity, ethical grounding, and multimodal scaffolding. Ratings across six core components ranged from 4.3 to 4.8. Feedback highlighted the need for clearer modelling, broader cultural representation, and enhanced scaffolding. Overall, the study affirms the framework’s relevance and adaptability for future EFL classrooms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 102054"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579712","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":"A cross-national assessment on critical thinking disposition between Hungarian and Chinese undergraduate students","authors":"Yong Liu , Attila Pásztor , Gyöngyvér Molnár","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102121","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102121","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Critical thinking (CT), a higher-order cognitive skill, has gained urgency amid AI advancements. Despite its recognized importance, cross-cultural assessments of critical thinking disposition (CTD) remain scarce, particularly comparisons between non-Western and Western educational contexts. This study addressed this gap by comparing CTD between Hungarian (<em>N</em> = 1090) and Chinese (<em>N</em> = 1535) undergraduates using Confirmative Factor Analysis (CFA), Measurement Invariance (MI), Item Response Theory, Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and descriptive statistics. Results revealed distinct correlation patterns: Hungarians exhibited strong inter-correlations among self-efficacy, instant judgment, and habitual truth-digging (all <em>p-values</em> < 0.001), whereas Chinese students showed no self-efficacy–habitual truth-digging link (<em>p</em> > .05). MI analysis indicated the acceptable configural and metric model (CFI and TLI > 0.90, SRMR < 0.08, and RMSEA < 0.10), but failing to achieve the scalar MI requirement (ΔCFI > 0.01), partially attributable to DIF in specific items, specializing in habitual truth-digging (favoring Hungarian respondents), self-efficacy (favoring Chinese respondents), and mixed pattern for instant judgment. These findings challenge the assumption of CTD universality, suggesting that cultural-educational systems (e.g., Hungary’s interdisciplinary focus vs. China’s rote-innovation blend) may drive divergent CTD development, underscoring the need for context-specific pedagogical interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 102121"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145883796","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":"Strategy Instruction Integrated with Realistic Mathematics Education: A Design-Based Research on Teaching Word Problem Solving to Students with Learning Disabilities","authors":"Tunahan FİLİZ , Nur Çağlayan Öztel","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102203","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2026.102203","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study used a design-based research method to explore how to design realistic mathematics education principles integrated into strategy instruction for teaching word problem solving to students with learning disabilities. The study was divided into two iterative research phases lasting 3 semesters in which the differentiation of word problem solving strategy steps for 12 third-grade students with learning disabilities was explored. During the two iterations, a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis procedures were used to examine the impact of the designed strategies on the word problem solving achievement of students with learning disabilities and to explore students' feedback on the worksheets. After two designbased iteration phases, it was concluded that the redesigned STAR worksheets with realistic mathematics education significantly increased the word problem solving achievement of students with learning disabilities. This design, which increased students' motivation and enhanced classroom interaction, also improved students’ overall problem solving performance and discussion participation. Possible studies for the next phases of the design-based research study are also discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 102203"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147612241","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":"Criticality and metacognition in citizenship education: ‘Hermeneutics of suspicion’ in Chinese elite universities graduates’ worldview-transforming processes","authors":"Yihao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101960","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101960","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While most literature on critical thinking emphasizes its cognitive dimension, this study explores criticality as a metacognitive experience in cultivating critical citizenship. Drawing on Paul Ricœur’s (1965/1970) hermeneutics of suspicion, it examines how criticality influences citizenship by encouraging individuals to evolve their interpretations of official discourses. Using Chinese citizenship education as a case study, narrative interviews with 12 purposively selected graduates from elite Chinese universities investigate changes in their interpretive stances over time. Thematic analysis identifies a four-stage, semi-iterative model of worldview transformation: participants initially accepted curricular content uncritically but subsequently encountered moments of suspicion that triggered metacognitive reflection and prompted reconstruction of their worldviews. Academic training contributed variably to this process. Confronted with everyday suspicions in social interactions and tensions between state narratives and personal interpretations, participants transformed themselves into critical beings through hermeneutic circle to reconcile these discourse gaps. Thus, the study advances understanding of how criticality can be unexpectedly activated, reflexively exercised, and intellectually directed to foster critical, reflexive, and deliberative citizenship. It also highlights the need for further research on the unintended civic effects of cultivating critical thinking, particularly its role in demystifying ideology, promoting epistemic autonomy, and constructing alternative worldviews.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101960"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144892336","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":"Strategies for sustainable competence development in primary English education majors: A qualitative inquiry into institutional and non-institutional constraints","authors":"Xiao Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101971","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.101971","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the professional competency development of primary English education (PEE) majors and explores strategies to foster sustainable competence development (SCD) through qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 55 PEE majors at a university in the People’s Republic of China. Participants addressed three core themes: (a) challenges in competency development, (b) barriers to sustainable growth, and (c) institutional/non-institutional strategies for promoting SCD. Using grounded theory, the analysis reveals that institutional and non-institutional factors collectively constrain students’ SCD, including curricular gaps, pedagogical limitations, and underdeveloped autonomous learning practices. The findings further highlight disparities in faculty expertise, inadequate alignment between coursework and practical teaching demands, and limited support for lifelong learning competencies. To address these issues, this study proposes a series of evidence-based countermeasures: reforming teaching methodologies in accordance with self-determination theory (SDT), enhancing faculty training through the integration of the TPACK framework, redesigning curricula to incorporate sustainable development perspectives, establishing collaborative learning environments to promote resource equity and improve teaching conditions, and cultivating students’ self-directed learning skills grounded in SDT principles. These recommendations are designed to ensure that PEE programs remain aligned with the evolving requirements of primary English education and facilitate the long-term professional development of graduates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 101971"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144907723","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":"Fostering undergraduates’ critical thinking in digital multimodal composition with generative artificial intelligence","authors":"Yanan Shen, Yanyan Han","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102045","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102045","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fostering critical thinking (CT) in higher education has become increasingly pertinent and challenging in the era of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). However, empirical studies on CT skill cultivation in GenAI-assisted learning are limited, especially in prevalent multimodal contexts. Integrating the CT skill framework and visual grammar, this qualitative case study developed a teaching module to foster undergraduates’ CT skills in GenAI-assisted digital multimodal composing (DMC), focusing on non-proficient AI users. It further explored four groups’ learning experiences in the classroom through students’ GenAI-assisted PowerPoint products, reflective writings, interviews, and design process observation. The findings revealed students’ more thoughtful scrutiny, comprehensive evaluation, and selective adoption of multimodal AIGC to achieve communicative purposes, with group variations and limitations in each dimension. This progress was facilitated by collaborative, revision-based DMC classwork with specifically defined, multi-dimensional requirements, systematic framework teaching, and real-time scaffolding. In conclusion, collaborative GenAI-assisted DMC practice with systematic instructional support can significantly foster students’ CT skill cultivation. These findings illuminate future pedagogical innovations to encourage deep learning and higher-order cognitive skills among a broader range of students in GenAI-assisted multimodal contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 102045"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145415902","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}
Han Yuan , Peiqi Shi , Xindi Yan , Dawei Yang , Xiaojing Gu
{"title":"When criticism helps: The interaction effects of constructive feedback and intrinsic motivation on preschool children’s creativity","authors":"Han Yuan , Peiqi Shi , Xindi Yan , Dawei Yang , Xiaojing Gu","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Constructive feedback is commonly used to support young children’s learning, but its effects on creativity may vary depending on learners’ motivational characteristics. This study investigated how different types of constructive feedback influence preschool children’s creativity, and whether this effect is moderated by their level of intrinsic motivation. A total of 130 preschool children (<em>M</em><sub>age</sub> = 5.97 ± 0.25 years) participated and were first assessed for intrinsic motivation and baseline creativity. They then completed an alternative uses task while receiving one of three feedback types: constructive positive, constructive negative, or no feedback. Creative performance was evaluated based on fluency and originality. Results revealed a significant interaction effect on originality, showing that constructive negative feedback enhanced originality more than constructive positive or no feedback, particularly for children with higher intrinsic motivation. No significant interaction effect was found for fluency. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring feedback strategies to children’s motivational states and suggest that, when thoughtfully delivered, constructive negative feedback can foster originality in highly motivated preschool children. Limitations and future directions are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 102005"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145099623","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":"Is imagination your superpower? The interactive role of curiosity and imagination in fostering psychological capital","authors":"Huei-Ying Chen , Yu-Yu Chang , Chia-Pin Kao","doi":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tsc.2025.102021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a critical personal resource that supports behavioral proactivity and resilience in the face of challenges, yet its developmental antecedents remain underexplored. Drawing upon Broaden-and-Build Theory, this study investigates how two core dimensions of trait curiosity, namely stretching (the drive to seek new knowledge) and embracing (the willingness to tolerate uncertainty), foster the development of PsyCap over time. Furthermore, the study examines how three distinct forms of imagination (initiating, conceiving, and transforming) moderate these relationships. Using a two-wave, time-lagged design, data were collected from 519 trained volunteers participating in science education programs. Results indicate that both stretching and embracing curiosity significantly predict subsequent PsyCap, but these effects are uniquely moderated by different facets of imagination. More importantly, imagination exhibits a dual influence: depending on its type, it can either amplify or constrain the positive impact of curiosity on PsyCap development. These findings advance our understanding of the cognitive pathways underpinning PsyCap and highlight practical implications for designing interventions in educational and professional learning environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47729,"journal":{"name":"Thinking Skills and Creativity","volume":"59 ","pages":"Article 102021"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145219669","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}