Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
evaluation of ideas and information, and making decisions (Kim, Chung, & Jeong,
1988
).
The implementation of PBL has shown positive relationships with changes in
scientific attitudes (Kang,
2008
; Oh, Kim, & Lee,
2005
). Oh et al. (
2005
) reported
that online PBL science classes and PBL science laboratory classes significantly
improved students
scientific attitudes. They explained that students acquired
positive scientific attitudes while seeking different experimental designs, devising
various ways of solving the problems, and deciding on the best solutions. Kang
(
2008
) has suggested that PBL was effective in improving students
'
scientific
attitudes towards engaging in inquiry activities involving real-life situations.
As aspect of scientific attitudes emphasized in this study is creativity which is the
ability to produce new, useful, and appropriate products (Boden,
2001
). The early
definition of creativity was focused on cognitive aspects (Guilford,
1950
). Later
affective aspects, such as curiosity, voluntariness and motivation, individual char-
acteristics, the environment, and domain-specific knowledge, have been considered
as components of creativity (Amabile,
1983
; Barron & Harrington,
1981
; Maslow,
1968
). Among these various components of creativity, creative thinking ability
focused more on the cognitive component. The aim of creative thinking ability is
not to have the correct answer but rather to pursue the development of varied and
unique ideas. Mumford, Mobley, Uhlman, Reiter-Palmon, and Doares (
1991
)
referred to the creative thinking process as a type of problem-solving process.
Therefore, creative thinking ability can be defined as the ability that can be
developed in the process of problem-solving, especially when students are trying
to generate various possibilities, different from the normal, to solve a problem.
During the PBL learning process, students experience higher-order thinking
abilities that include critical, creative, as well as logical thinking abilities because
more cognitive activities are involved in solving ill-structured problems than
structured ones (Choi,
2004
). In stating that PBL is effective in enhancing creative
and critical thinking abilities, Choi (
2001
) has specified the kinds of thinking
abilities that are required in each step of PBL, namely, originality and fluency,
sub-categories of creative thinking ability that are required in defining the problem.
'
3 Rationale and Research Questions
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a second-year
college students
problem-based learning (PBL) chemistry laboratory course on
several affective factors. The influence of the PBL course was compared with a
traditional laboratory course for the same duration involving another group of
students in the same year. In order to achieve these objectives, the study addressed
the following research questions:
'
1. How does the problem-based learning (PBL) chemistry laboratory course influ-
ence students
scientific attitudes in the dimensions of openness, curiosity,
'
Search WWH ::
Custom Search