VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION MAI THI NHAN IMPROVING CREATIVE THINKING OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH CHEMISTRY TEACHING THESIS FOR MASTER DEGREE OF CHEMISTRY TEACHING HANOI – 2015 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION MAI THI NHAN IMPROVING CREATIVE THINKING OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH CHEMISTRY TEACHING THESIS FOR MASTER DEGREE OF CHEMISTRY TEACHING TRAINING SPECIALITY: THEORY AND TEACHING METHODOLOGY OF CHEMISTRY CODE: 60 14 01 11 Instructor: As. Le Kim Long HANOI – 2015 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks are extended to Associate Professor Doctor Le Kim Long – Rector of Hanoi University of Education who guides and suggests me, without his help, this work would not have been completed. I deeply thanks Doctor Tran Thi Bich Lieu of Hanoi University of Education and Doctor Nguyen Tung Lam – Rector of Dinh Tien Hoang High School for their helpful and guidences during my research. I would like to thank all members in Chemistry Group of Dinh Tien Hoang High School as well as students there for their friendly collaboration and sound discussion during my research.
They absolutely are the key factors helping this work. I also thanks my friends and family for their unconditional supports and encouragement. Mai Thi Nhan Hanoi, Nov 2015 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ABSTRACT The 21st century is the age of knowledge economy, thus, to adapt the demands of highly-quality talents, creative thinking are becoming increasingly important. In the explosion of knowledge, education has been seen as central in fostering creative skills of youth.
An emphasis on creative problem solving in science education can help to better preparation of students for scientific and technological problem solving and related careers. However, the central concern of most science teachers is a narrow focus of fostering these skills. The involvment of creativity in education comprises that teachers must understand the core purpose of education - trainning students ways of thinking. Teachers should give students opportunities to connect and combine; to work with the artistic, scientific, and historical modes of thought; to communicate in verbal, mathematical, kinesthetic, musical, and visual languages; to understand and use frameworks as springboards for their creativity; and to enjoy the fact that many problems with a single answer have multiple solutions, and that many more problems have no universally right or best answer.
Chemistry as a part of science is an essential domain of the school curriculum. The chemistry teaching has the potential to encourage students to think flexibly, thanks to system of theories and problems, in order to increase a variety of approaches to solving problems and, in that way, to contribute to development of learners creative capacities. The assumption that chemistry can stimulate creativity depends on the way chemistry is taught. TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com CONTENTS Acknowledgement………………………………………………………….ii List of Symbols ….iii List of Figures .iv List of Tables ………………………………………………….v List of Graphs.
1 CHAPTER I: THE MAIN THEORETICAL CONCEPT .1 BLOOM‟S TAXONOMY AND BLOOM‟S REVISED TAXONOMY .3 THE NATURE OF CREATIVITY.4 IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVE THINKING .5 CREATIVITY IN EDUCATION .6 METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS.1 Visualization and creative dramatics techniques .2 Divergent thinking strategies .3 Mind mapping technique .4 Project-based learning (PBL) method .5 Six thinking hats technique .6 Creative questions and problems .8 ROLE OF TEACHERS .9 CREATIVITY IN CHEMISTRY .10 ACTUAL SITUATION OF TRAINING CREATIVE THINKING THROUGH CHEMISTRY FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS .1 AIMS OF RESEARCH .3 OBJECTS OF RESEARCH. 43 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.4 POSITION, TARGET AND STRUCTURE OF THE EXPERIMENT LECTURES.1 The position of the experiment lectures .2 Targets of the experiment lectures .5 EVALUATION METHOD AND DATA TREATMENT OF EXPERIMENT LECTURES. 51 CHAPTER III: INTERVENTION, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .1 INTERVENTION TO TRAIN CREATIVE THINKING BY CREATIVE TEACHING METHODS AND TECHNIQUES .2 Creative dramatic technique .3 Imagination and illustration technique .5 Mind mapping and group work technique .2 The behavior of students after training creative thinking skill .3 The results of tests. 83 CONCLUSION AND PETITION.
88 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF SYMBOLS Ex: Experiment PBL: Project-Based Learning Re: Reference TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Bloom‟s Taxonomy and Bloom‟s Revised Taxonomy Figure 1.2: Implicit theories about creativity Figure 1.3: Questions in Star-bursting session Figure 1.4: Fishbone Map Figure 1.5: Example of mind mapping technique Figure 1.6: Outlining the implementation of Project-Based Learning projects TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Letter of the SCAMPER acronym Table 1.2: Synthesis of De Bono‟s six thinking hats model Table 1.3: The investigation results of training creative thinking in chemistry for students.1: School and objects of the research Table 3.1: Creative products of students about the periodic trend of elements Table 3.2: The observation results of students‟ behaviors.3: The grade distribution of test 1 Table 3.4: The grade rank of test 1 Table 3.4: The probability distribution of test 1 Table 3.5: The statistic parameters and Students t – test distribution of test 1 Table 3.6: The grade distribution of test 2 Table 3.7: The grade rank of test 2 Table 3.8: The probability distribution of test 2 Table 3. The statistic parameters and Students t – test distribution of test 2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF GRAPHS Graph 3.1: The grade rank of test 1 Graph 3.2: The percentage distribution of grade below xi for test 1 Graph 3.3: The grade rank of test 2 Graph 3.4: The percentage distribution of grade below xi for test 2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Thesis for Master Degree – University of Education 2015 INTRODUCTION 1. REASON TO CHOOSE THE TOPIC In the 21st century, the appearance of high technology society and knowledge economy brings human a vast of challenge. To adapt and develop in new society, people must have qualifications as well as abilities which are appropriate to this global change.
In the demand of the information society and knowledge economy, educators should enhance the quality of education, replace the old methods by the new ones. The core purpose of education is that education should train students ways of thinking, enhance independent thinking. to bring into play students‟ ability and creativity. Teaching chemistry not only enhances the personal knowledge but also applies this learning into real life or forms a new one.
Chemistry teachers are instructors who train thinking for students, such as observation ability, problem solving ability, scientific imagination ability … through learning, which nurtures critical and creative thinking skills. Specially, creative teaching methods are the key point for this development. On the other hand, chapter 1 (Atom) and chapter 2 (The periodic table and the periodic law) consist fundamental and difficult knowledge in chemistry program which guides students to study other parts of chemistry. Thus, it is the reason why we choose two chapters as the main chemical contents to research the thesis: “Improving creative thinking of high school students through chemistry teaching” 1 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Thesis for Master Degree – University of Education 2015 2.
SUBJECT AND OBJECT OF THE RESEARCH 2.1 Subject of the research: Teaching process in high school.2 Object of the research: Training creative thinking skill for high school students through creative teaching methods. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH We apply the creative teaching methods in teaching chemistry in order to improve creative thinking skills for high school students, which nurtures the teaching and learning quality. AIM OF THE RESEARCH - Investigate the theory relating to the topic: Changing the teaching methods. Training creative thinking for high school students.
- Carry out a survey in high schools to study the use of creative teaching methods in teaching plan and the train of creative thinking skill for high school students. - Investigate the purpose and contents of chemistry program in high school, especially these topics: Atom – The Periodic Table – The Periodic Law, Class 10 Basic Program. - Build up creative teaching methods and a system of chemistry questions & exercises to develop students‟ creative thinking. - Evaluate the efficiency of experiment lectures through creative products and the results of tests.
SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESIS If creative teaching methods and a system of chemistry questions & exercises are applied well, creative thinking skill of high school students will be nurtured. 2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Thesis for Master Degree – University of Education 2015 6. THE NEW POINTS OF THE THESIS - Building up some creative chemistry lectures (Major topics: Atom – The Periodic Table – The Periodic Law, Class 10 Basic Program) to teach students in experiment part. - Collecting and selecting a system of chemistry questions & exercises (Major topics: Atom – The Periodic Table – The Periodic Law, Class 10 Basic Program) to train creative thinking for students.
METHOD OF THE RESEARCH 7. Theoretical investigation - Investigating the theory of creative thinking relating to the topic. - Collecting and analyzing the theoretical materials. Realistic investigation - Carry out a survey in high schools to study the use of creative teaching methods.
- Exchange the views between chemistry teachers about the contents and form of teaching. - Build up experiment lectures using creative teaching methods and techniques and a system of chemistry questions & exercises 7.3 Mathematical statistic method to treat data - Using the mathematical statistic in educational scientific research to treat the experiment data. STUCTURE OF THE THESIS Introduction Chapter 1: The main theoretical concept Chapter 2: Methodology Chapter 3: Intervention, result and discussion Conclusion and Petition 3 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Thesis for Master Degree – University of Education 2015 CHAPTER I: THE MAIN THEORETICAL CONCEPT 1.1 BLOOM’S TAXONOMY AND BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY As educators we are all familiar with Bloom‟s Taxonomy, created in the 1950′s by Benjamin Bloom, and the more recently revised 2001 version adapted by Lorin Anderson. The chart shown below compares the original Bloom‟s taxonomy with the revised one: Figure 1.1: Bloom‟s Taxonomy and Bloom‟s Revised Taxonomy This new taxonomy reflects a more active form of thinking and is perhaps more accurate.
The new version of Bloom's Taxonomy, with explanations and keywords is shown below: Remembering – retrieving, recalling or recognizing knowledge from memory. Remembering is when memory is used to produce definitions, facts or lists, or recite or retrieve material. Understanding – constructing meaning from different types of function be they written or graphic 4 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Thesis for Master Degree – University of Education 2015 Applying – carrying out or using a procedure through executing or implementing. Applying related and refers to situations where learned material is used through products like models, presentation, interviews and simulations.
Analyzing – breaking material or concepts into parts, determining how the parts relate or interrelate to one another or to an overall structure or purpose. Mental actions include differentiating, organizing and attributing as well as being able to distinguish between components. Evaluating – making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing … Creating – putting the elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning or producing. [26] Bloom‟s Taxonomy categorizes thinking skills from the concrete to the abstract - knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation.
The last three are considered HIGHER-ORDER THINKING Skills. Bloom‟s new taxonomy positions the abilities to analyze, evaluate, and create as upper- level skills in the cognitive domain. Therefore, critical and creative thinking are specific types of higher-order thinking skills that contrast with the lower-order skills of understanding and remembering. Creative and critical thinking are key elements of university life and future career and they are extremmely necessary to problem-solve at school and in life, so students need develop both skills gradually over time.
The duty of teachers is that they should apply Bloom‟s classification as guidence to check the progression of students‟ thinking as well as nurture these higher-order thinking skills from early school years.