Academic Summaries (examples)1. Alternative Energy. (n.d.). .docx

Academic Summaries (examples)
1. Alternative Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2015, from
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~dama0023/biofuels.html
The article “Alternative Energy” agrees that biofuels are
an ideal alternative energy to fossil fuels. It introduces the
definition of biofuels and the background that people today pay
more attention on biofuels due to substantially rising gas and oil
prices. It also lists advantages and disadvantages of biofuels.
After contrasting them both, it is clear that we should use
biofuels instead of fossil fuels.
The definition of biofuels will be used in my background
paragraph for those readers who are not familiar with this
specialized area. Listed advantages of high sustainability, safer
national security and low carbon production in terms of biofuels
will help me strengthen my supporting arguments. When writing
about counter arguments, I will use examples from
disadvantages of nonrenewable machinery for biofuels and
global hunger triggered by the increasing use of biomass.
2. The Global Impact of Rising Oil Prices. (2005, May 10).
Retrieved November 16, 2015, from
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-global-impact-
of-rising-oil-prices/
The article “The Global Impact of Rising Oil Prices”
agrees that skyrocketing oil prices have some major impacts on
the global market such as the stock market. It discusses the
current situation of unstable oil prices and then analyzes the
case by giving the facts about the international role and
influences of China in a negative way. After that, it also
discusses the crisis taking place in Europe and forecasts the
future oil market in Latin America. According to the article, if
oil prices continue to grow, the situation will get worse and

cause more harm to not only the developed countries but also
the underdeveloped countries eventually.
In my background paragraph, I will use the example of
how certain professional groups such as taxi drivers and
transportation workers who require higher wages to cover the
loss of incremental oil prices affect the economic market. The
example from this article will contribute to explain why today’s
society is gaining more attention to rising oil prices. Due to the
consequence, we should reduce our reliance on fossil fuels such
as the petroleum.
3. Biofuels and Sustainable Development. (2008, May 19).
Retrieved November 16, 2015, from
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/docs/faculty_pubs/lee_biof
uels.pdf
The article “Biofuels and Sustainable Development” has a
positive attitude toward biofuels. It first indicates reasons for
biofuels referring to scarce fossil fuel energy, global warming
by the factor of increasing emissions of Carbon Dioxide and
unstable economic development. Then it lists what to be
concerned about in terms of increasing food prices, greenhouse
gases released from the production of biofuels, harm to the
ecosystem and the not evenly distributed land use. After that, it
gives solutions to the problem listed and concludes that it is
still ideal to replace fossil fuels with biofuels in the future after
addressing the possible problems.
In the second supporting argument, I will use the statistics
of how much global Carbon Dioxide to be produced by
transportation in order to strengthen my point that biofuels are
the significant solution to huge emissions of Carbon Dioxide in
transport. Since biodiesel can efficiently substitute for most of
fossil fuels such as petroleum, reducing emissions of Carbon
Dioxide will be remarkably effective.
Academic Summary Assignment

Guidelines. This assignment is a pass / fail assignment and is
worth 10% of your overall grade. You must complete your
summary by the end of class on Week 7. There are no
extensions. Your academic summaries must also be handed in
with your research essay on W11 and W12. Failure to hand in
your academic summaries with your research essay will result in
a zero on the entire assignment.
Assignment description. You must summarize three of your five
research articles. Two of these articles must be from the SFU
research database. The remaining article can be one you found
(with an instructor’s approval) online.
Each summary must be a paraphrase of the original. No direct
quotations are allowed. Use of correct APA citations is
required.
Your instructor will have further guidelines (including structure
and word count) during W6 and W7.
Learning and Individual Differences 51 (2016) 291–298
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Learning and Individual Differences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lindif
Do award-winning experiences benefit students' creative self-
efficacy
and creativity? The moderated mediation effects of perceived
school
support for creativity

Shu-Hsuan Chang a, Chih-Lien Wang a, Jing-Chuan Lee b,⁎
a Department of Industrial Education and Technology, National
Changhua University of Education, Taiwan
b Graduate Institute of Educational Leadership and Evaluation,
Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
⁎ Corresponding author at: Rm. N104, No.1, Nantai S
Taiwan.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J.-C. Lee).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.09.011
1041-6080/© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
a b s t r a c t
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 3 December 2015
Received in revised form 12 August 2016
Accepted 16 September 2016
The study aims to investigate the effects of students' perceived
school support for creativity and creative self-ef-
ficacy on their individual creativity. It further examines the
mediation of creative self-efficacy and the moderated
mediation of perceived school support for creativity. A survey
was conducted over a sample of 720 Design-
majored students from universities of science and technology in
Taiwan, among which 335 have won awards
for their work in creative design (with award-winning
experience), and 385 have none (without award-winning
experience). The results were analyzed with a path analysis-
based moderated mediation analysis to determine
whether the hypotheses were supported. Research findings
include: (1) students' perceived school support for
creativity had significant positive effects on both their creative
self-efficacy and individual creativity; (2) per-
ceived school support for creativity affected individual

creativity via the mediation of creative self-efficacy; the
mediation effects were higher on students with award-winning
experiences(s) than on those without; (3) per-
ceived school support for creativity had the effect of moderated
mediation between their creative self-efficacy
and individual creativity for students with award-winning
experience(s); the effect was absent for students
without award-winning experience. Based on the above
findings, the implications and suggestions are provided
for future research.
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Creative self-efficacy
Individual creativity
Moderated mediation model
Perceived school support for creativity
1. Introduction
An environment supportive of creativity can potentially enrich
life
experiences of an individual and spark his/her individual
creativity(IC).
In our current 21st century, we have entered the so-called
“Creative
Age”, when creativity has become the common goal pursued by
almost
all developed countries in the world and the development of
which has
marked the general direction where education of every country
strives
toward (Florida, 2004). As a result of that, the cultivation of
student cre-
ativity and the development of student potential are both now
essential
topics in personnel training. The importance of research in

creativity has
never been more pronounced.
In recent years, scholars have unanimously emphasized the
signifi-
cant impact the interaction between individual and environment
has
on creativity (Amabile, 1996; Gong, Huang, & Farh, 2009;
Hirst, Van
Knippenberg, & Zhou, 2009; Jaussi, Randel, & Dionne, 2007;
Oldham &
Cummings, 1996; Shalley, Zhou, & Oldham, 2004). Many
researchers
have noticed that the generation or manifestation of creativity is
not
t., Yongkang Dist., Tainan City,
simply a matter pertaining to the creative individual themselves,
but
is at the same time very much influenced by the environment
and cul-
ture the individual is in or has come from; environment plays
the role
of either nurturing/enhancing creativity or inhibiting it
(Amabile,
1996; Csikszentmihalyi & Wolfe, 2000). On the other hand,
creativity
plays a crucial role in the cultural life of people; it is essential
to the de-
velopment and advancement of human civilization (Hennessey
&
Amabile, 2010). Amabile and Pillemer (2012) therefore
suggested re-
searches on creativity be conducted from the perspective of
social psy-
chology, with particular emphasis on the overall development of
an

individual's creative behaviors within social context. In view of
the fore-
going, it is clear that in order to better understand students' IC,
it is es-
sential to consider the school environment (contextual factor),
as well
as the individual factors on the part of the students.
Amabile (1996) maintained, in her componential theory of
creativi-
ty, that a “supportive social environment” directly affects an
individual's
intrinsic motivation to be creative. This environment can
incorporate
other extrinsic motivators to influence the creative process of an
indi-
vidual. According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, self-
efficacy is a
major mechanism in moderating motivation and behavior
(Bandura,
1977). Creative self-efficacy (CSE) was defined by Tierney and
Farmer
(2002) as one's belief that “one has the ability to produce
creative
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09.011&domain=pdf
mailto:[email protected]
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292 S.-H. Chang et al. / Learning and Individual Differences 51
(2016) 291–298

outcomes” and was considered as an efficacy belief specific to
creative
performance (Tierney & Farmer, 2004). Research studies have
proven
that CSE positively predicts creative performance and the
generation
of creative ideas/products (Gong et al., 2009; Jaussi et al.,
2007;
Tierney & Farmer, 2002, 2004). Up until now, most studies
have focused
on the development of group/team creativity and organizational
crea-
tivity (Amabile & Khaire, 2008; Gaggioli, Mazzoni, Milani, &
Riva,
2015), the studies about IC were comparatively few. In the field
of edu-
cational psychology, researchers investigated mainly the roles
of
teachers and peers (Karwowski, 2011, 2015; Karwowski,
Gralewski, &
Szumski, 2015), studies relating to the effect(s) of student's
perceived
school support for creativity (PSSC) (i.e., a student's subjective
percep-
tion concerning the extent to which school recognizes, supports,
and
encourages their creativity) on their IC were also scarce.
Currently, the
effects of perceived organizational support for creativity on
employee
creativity have been confirmed in many studies (Choi, 2004,
2012;
Shalley et al., 2004; Tierney & Farmer, 2002, 2004), though
they mostly
focused only on the contextual factors of leader encouragement
and

peer support. A study becomes theoretically and empirically
more sig-
nificant if its research structure incorporates mediation and
moderation
simultaneously (Muller, Judd, & Yzerbyt, 2005). In light of
that, this
study investigates the mediation of CSE (personal factor)
between
PSSC (contextual factor) and IC. It further examines whether
personal
factors are influenced by the moderated mediation of contextual
factors.
Many sources contribute to the development of a person's self-
effi-
cacy, including rewards from past performances, personal life
experi-
ences, and social influences (Hoy & Miskel, 2001). However,
its
development is commonly attributed to four major sources:
perfor-
mance accomplishments (enactive mastery experiences),
vicarious ex-
periences, verbal persuasion, and physiological/emotional states
(Bandura, 1997). Among them, the most influential is enactive
experi-
ences, one's authentic mastery experiences directly related to
the job;
past successes raise self-efficacy, while failures lower it. In the
motiva-
tional process, an individual's self-efficacy appraisal could
constitute a
concept of self-management; CSE could greatly inspire an
individual's
intrinsic motivation (Bandura, 1997). The strong belief in one's
ability

to do well on a given task could enhance one's intrinsic
motivation
and enable one to work with devotion voluntarily and joyously.
In addi-
tion, work environment attributes (e.g. reward, support, warmth,
iden-
tity, etc.) directly or indirectly perceived by working members
(Litwin &
Stringer, 1968) may also affect their motives and behaviors.
Gralewski
and Karwowski (2013a, 2013b) have noticed that participations
in com-
petitions and thematic Olympics were positively associated with
stu-
dents' creative self-perception. The current study takes into
consideration the above claims and investigates whether there is
a dif-
ference in the strength of mediation of CSE between students
with
and without award-winning experience(s) (AWE), and whether
these
effects are affected by the moderated mediation of students'
PSSC. The
AWE, in the context of our study, refers to students' experience
of win-
ning award in national and/or international creative design-
related
competitions.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development
2.1. Mediation of creative self-efficacy
Amabile (1983, 1996) stated in her componential theory of
creativ-
ity that “creativity is best conceptualized… as a behavior

resulting from
particular constellations of personal characteristics, cognitive
ability,
and social environment”. For college students, this
social/organizational
environment would be the college/university they attend. Lubart
(2008) has noted the great individual differences in creativity,
and
that some schools may be better at enhancing student creativity
than
others. A creative school climate, i.e., a school culture
supportive of cre-
ativity, can provide the necessary support for the creativity of
its stu-
dents (Amabile, Conti, Coon, Lazenby, & Herron, 1996; Oldham
&
Cummings, 1996). Research has found that the level of trust in
the class-
room/school (interpersonal component of creative climate)
could influ-
ence students' CSE (Karwowski, 2011). Organizational
encouragement
of idea generation, freedom of expression, and etc. has been
shown to
have the effect of stimulating its members to engage in creative
behav-
iors (Amabile & Gryskiewicz, 1989). Both creative school
climate and
teacher's intrinsic motivation have significant direct positive
effects on
teacher's creative teaching performance (Hsiao, 2011).
When Bandura first proposed the concept of self-efficacy, it
was pos-
ited as the cognitive mechanism that plays the main role in
influencing

the psychological functioning of an individual (Bandura, 1977).
High
self-efficacy was believed to be a prerequisite to creative output
or dis-
covery of new knowledge (Bandura, 1997). Beghetto (2006)
found that
higher levels of CSE were linked to students holding more
positive be-
liefs about their academic abilities in all subject areas. Studies
have con-
firmed that individual factors and work environment jointly
affect an
individual's CSE (Chong & Ma, 2010), and that there is a
positive rela-
tionship between organizational climate and self-efficacy
(Liang &
Wei, 2013).
The causation of IC is not limited to the intricate interactive
results of
psychological processes such as individual cognition, motive,
attitude,
emotion, and etc.; in the process of self-regulation, the self-
efficacy of
an individual plays an important role of mediation (Bandura,
1977,
1982). Tierney and Farmer (2002, 2004) observed that CSE is
predictive
of individual creative performance; and is a significant mediator
in the
relationships between supervisors' expectations of employee
creativity
and employee creativity, supervisors' creativity-supportive
behaviors
and employee creativity, and employees' view of creativity
expectations

and employee creativity. By integrating the effects of
environment and
the psychology of college students, it is possible to predict
students' sci-
entific imagination via the mediation of their self-efficacy (Hsu,
Liang, &
Hsu, 2014). The mediation of self-efficacy has been found to
enable the
intrinsic motivation of university science majors to significantly
affect
their imagination (Liang & Chang, 2014). Self-efficacy also
mediates
the effects of organizational climate on employee creativity
(Liang &
Wei, 2013). Contextual factors such as the social influences
from super-
visors and colleagues can affect individual creative performance
through the mediation of CSE (Choi, 2004, 2012). Inferring
from the
aforementioned findings, this study proposes the following
hypotheses:
H1. Students' PSSC will positively affect their IC. (X → Y, c).
H2. Students' PSSC will positively affect their CSE. (X → M,
a1).
H3. Students' PSSC will affect their IC via the mediation of
their CSE.
(X、M → Y, c′, b1).
2.2. Moderated mediation of perceived school support for
creativity
The interactionists hold that it is impossible to truly understand
the
emergence of each specific individual behavior by analyzing the

behavior
singularly from personal or contextual perspective alone; the
behavior
needs to be examined from the standpoint of interactions
between per-
sonal and contextual factors (Schneider, 1990). Runco (2007)
posited or-
ganizational climate as a way to manipulate the effects of social
support. It
is suggested that climate dimensions are effective predictors of
creative
performance (Hunter, Bedell, & Mumford, 2007), and that
creative people
appear particularly reactive to climate variables (Oldham &
Cummings,
1996). Hirst and colleagues proposed that team context, in
fostering indi-
vidual learning, facilitates IC (Hirst et al., 2009). Conversely,
unsupportive
social climate negatively affects IC (Choi, Anderson, &
Veillette, 2009).
When appraising self-efficacy, one instinctively assesses the
resources
and limitations of self and environment in terms of knowledge,
informa-
tion, experience, support, etc., and then form a belief of one's
having high
or low coping capacity based on those assessments (Gist &
Mitchell,
1992). Each individual, therefore, has their own unique way of
cognizing
Perceived school
support for

creativity (X)
Individual
creativity (Y)
c
Perceived school
support for
creativity (X)
Individual
creativity (Y)c'
Creative self-
efficacy (M)
a1
b1
b2
Fig. 1. Conceptual model.
293S.-H. Chang et al. / Learning and Individual Differences 51
(2016) 291–298
environmental support (PSSC in our case) and situational
change,
interpreting personal experiences, and behaving accordingly. It
has been
recognized that contextual factors, as individually/subjectively
perceived
by the students and reflecting their comprehensive beliefs about
the

school's organizational behavior, may be measured by self-
perception in-
struments (Choi, 2004, 2012; Karwowski, 2011, 2015;
Karwowski et al.,
2015).
Empirical studies have found that: perceived support for
creativity
moderates the relationship between CSE and self-perceived
creativity
(Diliello, Houghton, & Dawley, 2011); and organizational
support moder-
ates the relationship between organizational justice and
employee inno-
vative behaviors (Hsu & Chiu, 2011). Studies on moderated
mediation
have shown that: school creative climate affects creative
teaching perfor-
mance via the mediation of teachers' intrinsic motivation
(Hsiao, 2011);
and students' PSSC positively moderated the mediated
relationship be-
tween their savoring capacity and IC via their CSE (Chang,
Wang, & Lee,
2015). Accordingly, the current study takes into consideration
the effects
of both mediation and moderation to examine the conditional
indirect ef-
fects (moderated mediation) of students' PSSC. Students' CSE,
in this con-
text, will serve as both the mediator and the moderated
variables
simultaneously. We thus hypothesized as follows:
H4. Students' PSSC will positively moderate the relationship
between

their CSE and their IC. (XM → Y, b2).
H5. The moderation of Students' PSSC will affect their IC via
the media-
tion of their CSE. (a1(b1 + b2X) → Y, c′).
M
X Y
XM
a
c'
b1
b2
eM
eY
Fig. 2. Path diagram of moderated mediation as proposed by
Preacher et al. (2007; p. 194).
X = independent variable; M = mediator; XM = moderator; Y =
dependent variable; a1,
b1, b2, and c′ = regression coefficients.
3. Research design
3.1. Participants
The present study selected fourth-year design-majored students
from several universities of science and technology in Taiwan
as re-
search participants. They were chosen to take the survey based

on
their experience in taking design courses. A stratified purposive
sam-
pling was used as the sampling method. After obtaining the
consent
from 13 universities to participate in the study, a total of 850
copies of
survey questionnaires were sent to the schools by mail. The
resulting
720 valid samples consisted of 67% females and 33% males;
87% pri-
vate-university and 13% public-university students; 47%
students with
AWE and 53% students without.
3.2. Research framework and method
Statistical analyses were conducted using AMOS 22.0 and SPSS
20.0.
Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed to examine
the con-
vergent validity of our measurement model and the content of
the good-
ness-of-fit index (GFI). The method of combining both mediator
and
moderator variables (i.e., moderated mediation) has been
suggested by re-
searchers Baron and Kenny (1986) and James and Brett (1984).
Moderated
mediation refers to instances in which mediation on every level
(direct, in-
direct, or simultaneous) is influenced by another moderator
variable
(Edwards & Lambert, 2007; Muller et al., 2005; Preacher,
Rucker, &
Hayes, 2007). As illustrated in Fig. 1, this study employed path

diagram
Model 1 presented by Preacher and colleagues (Preacher et al.,
2007) as
the framework of our theoretical model, taking CSE as the
mediator vari-
able (M), and PSSC as both the independent variable (X) and
moderator
variable (XM). The paths of this moderated mediation model are
shown
in Fig. 2. In order to simultaneously examine all paths proposed
in the the-
oretical model and to avoid type I error and the problems of
statistical
strength, survey data were analyzed using Andrew Hayes'
PROCESS
macro Models 4 and 74 to examine the effects of mediation and
moderat-
ed mediation respectively (Hayes, 2013). Subsequently, we
utilized the
Sobel test and bootstrapping to obtain the confidence interval
(CI) and to
determine whether it included 0: if it did, the indirect effect
would be
deemed insignificant; if it did not, the effect would be
considered signifi-
cant. The mediation of CSE in students with and without AWE,
and the
moderated mediation of PSSC were each examined following
this
procedure.
3.3. Measures
3.3.1. Measure of creative self-efficacy
We used the 4-item, 7-point Likert CSE scale developed by
Tierney and Farmer (2002) to assess students' CSE with

questions
such as “I feel that I am good at generating novel ideas” and “I
have
confidence in my ability to solve problems creatively”. In
evaluating
reliability and validity, the results of the CFA showed that the t-
value
of all items on the measure were at the 0.001 level of
significance;
factor loadings were between 0.878–0.912; composite reliability
(CR) was 0.943; and average variance extracted (AVE) was
0.805.
The fact that factor loadings were N0.7, CR was N0.7, and AVE
exceeded the standard value of 0.5 (Hair, Black, Babin, &
Anderson,
2009) demonstrated the adequate convergent validity of the
mea-
sure. In terms of model fit, RMSEA = 0.016, it was ≤0.06 and
thus
reflected a good fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999); GFI = 0.999, AGFI =
0.992, NFI = 0.999, and CFI = 0.999, all achieved values
greater
than the standard of 0.950 (Bentler, 1995; Hu & Bentler, 1999);
the
overall model fit was almost perfect.
Table 2
Descriptive statistics and t-test of difference between AWE and
Non-AWE.
Variables Students M SD t Skewness Kurtosis
PSSC (X) AWE 2.802 0.622 −0.189 −0.425 −0.230
Non-AWE 2.811 0.583 −0.243 −0.168

Total 2.807 0.601 −0.338 −0.192
CSE (M) AWE 5.192 1.137 6.137⁎⁎⁎ −0.425 −0.559
Non-AWE 4.664 1.162 −0.165 −0.093
Total 4.910 1.179 −0.273 −0.378
IC (Y) AWE 4.338 0.853 6.159⁎⁎⁎ −0.185 −0.765
Non-AWE 3.941 0.873 0.228 −0.473
Total 4.126 0.886 0.026 −0.722
Note. N = 720; n = 335 (Award-winning); n = 385 (Non-award-
winning). M = mean,
SD = standard deviation; PSSC = perceived school support for
creativity; CSE = creative
self-efficacy; IC = individual creativity.
⁎⁎⁎ p b 0.001.
(2016) 291–298
3.3.2. Measure of perceived school support for creativity
In line with the purpose of this study, the “organizational
encourage-
ment” section of KEYS: Assessing the Climate for Creativity
developed
by Amabile and colleagues (Amabile et al., 1996) was used as
the instru-
ment to assess students' PSSC. The measure comprised of eight
4-point
Likert scale items with questions such as “People are
encouraged to
solve problems creatively in this school”, and “People are
rewarded for
creative work in this school”. The results of the CFA showed
that the t-
value of all items on the measure were at the 0.001 level of

significance;
factor loadings were between 0.683–0.794; CR was 0.910; and
AVE was
0.556; adequate convergent validity of the measure was thus
demon-
strated (Hair et al., 2009). The overall model fit was
satisfactory
(RMSEA = 0.060, NFI = 0.926, and CFI = 0.943, GFI = 0.898,
AGFI =
0.877) (Bentler, 1995; Hu & Bentler, 1999). Although GFI and
AGFI
were not N0.90, they nevertheless fell within the reasonable
range of
≥0.80 and thus can still be deemed acceptable (Hu & Bentler,
1999).
This study examined its aggregate effect showed that ICC(1)
value of
PSSC was low, and ICC(2) value was generally lower than the
0.70
criteria. Thus, this study adopted self-perception instrument
with well
validity and reliability to measure school support for creativity
and mea-
sured as the Level-1 variable.
3.3.3. Measure of individual creativity
A 9-item 6-point Likert IC scale (Tierney, Farmer, & Graen,
1999) was
used to evaluate the IC of students with questions such as “I
demon-
strated originality in my work”, and “I took risks in terms of
producing
new ideas in doing my job”. The results of the CFA showed that
the t-
value of all items on the measure were at the 0.001 level of
significance;

factor loadings were between 0.770–0.831; CR was 0.944; and
AVE was
0.650; all demonstrated the adequate convergent validity of the
mea-
sure (Hair et al., 2009). The overall model fit was almost
perfect
(RMSEA = 0.059, GFI = 0.978, AGFI = 0.953, NFI = 0.984, and
CFI =
0.988) (Bentler, 1995; Hu & Bentler, 1999).
3.3.4. Discriminant validity between measures
To ensure that every aspect (PSSC, CSE, or IC) of the measures
could
be effectively distinguished, the discriminant validity between
mea-
sures was assessed using the technique proposed by Fornell and
Lacker (1981). This would mean that the AVE of each variable
need to
be greater than the square value of the correlation coefficient
between
them. As shown in Table 1, all AVE values are indeed greater
than the
square value of the correlation coefficient between variables,
and there-
by confirming adequate discriminant validity. Furthermore, the
correla-
tion between the PSSC, CSE and IC scales for all students as
well as for
students with/without AWE were all statistically significant (p b
0.01),
signifying that the data are fit for hypothesis testing.
Table 1
Square root of AVE, correlations between variables, and factor
loading.
AWE students n =

335
Non-AWE students
n = 385
Total students N =
720
Variables X M Y X M Y X M Y
PSSC (X) 0.757 0.737 0.747
CSE (M) 0.370 0.896 0.157 0.890 0.250 0.897
IC (Y) 0.396 0.776 0.800 0.236 0.741 0.798 0.303 0.768 0.806
FL(Min) 0.701 0.884 0.759 0.662 0.867 0.768 0.683 0.886 0.770
FL(Max) 0.821 0.909 0.830 0.792 0.922 0.831 0.794 0.914
0.831
CR 0.915 0.942 0.941 0.905 0.938 0.941 0.910 0.943 0.944
AVE 0.573 0.803 0.640 0.543 0.792 0.637 0.558 0.805 0.650
Cronbach's α 0.984 0.918 0.930 0.881 0.912 0.929 0.887 0.919
0.933
Note. The on-diagonal values shown in boldface are the square
root of AVE; the off-diag-
onal values are the correlation coefficient (**p b 0.01); PSSC =
perceived school support
for creativity; CSE = creative self-efficacy; IC = individual
creativity. FL(Min) = minimum
factor loading; FL(Max) = maximum factor loading.
4. Results and analysis
4.1. Descriptive statistical analysis
Table 2 illustrates that the mean scores of CSE and IC from
students
with AWE were significantly higher than those of without
AWE. Inter-

estingly, the mean score of students without AWE in PSSC was
non-sig-
nificant difference that of students with AWE.
4.2. Hypotheses testing for mediation
In testing the mediation of CSE proposed in H3, we followed
the pro-
cedure suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986). Data were
analyzed
using Hayes's PROCESS macro Models 4 (Hayes, 2013).
The regression coefficients of mediation are displayed in Table
3. For
students with AWE, Model 1 shows that their PSSC had a
significant
positive effect on their IC (Y) (c = 0.539, p b 0.001; R2 =
0.155,
p b 0.001); H1 was therefore supported. Model 2 shows that
their
PSSC had a significant positive effect on their CSE (a1 = 0.661,
p b 0.001; R2 = 0.131, p b 0.001), H2 was therefore also
supported.
Model 3 demonstrates that their CSE had a significant positive
effect
on their IC (b1 = 0.540, p b 0.001; R2 = 0.605, p b 0.001); and
although
the regression coefficient of their PSSC on their IC decreased
with the
mediation of their CSE, it was still at the significance level (c′
= 0.182,
p b 0.001), therefore, H3 too was supported. This partial
mediation
was quantified using the difference-in-coefficients method
developed
by Judd and Kenny (1981), Bindirect = 0.357 (a1 ∗ b1 = c-c′).

The indirect
effect in H3 was tested with Sobel, results showed that the z-
value of
CSE was 6.643 (p b 0.001); and bootstrap 95% CIs [0.507,
0.873] did
not include 0, the indirect effect was therefore proven
significant. The
strength of mediation was at 66.18%.
For students without AWE, Model 1 shows that their PSSC had
a sig-
nificant positive effect on their IC (c = 0.339, p b 0.001; R2 =
0.051,
p b 0.001), H1 was therefore supported. Model 2 shows that
their
PSSC had a significant positive effect on their CSE (a1 = 0.282,
p b 0.01; R2 = 0.020, p b 0.01), H2 was therefore also support.
Model
3 demonstrates that their CSE had a significant positive effect
on their
IC (b1 = 0.539, p b 0.001; R2 = 0.554, p b 0.001); and although
the re-
gression coefficient of their PSSC on their IC decreased with
the media-
tion of their CSE, it was still at the significance level (c′ =
0.187,
p b 0.001), therefore, H3 too was supported. This partial
mediation
was quantified using the difference-in-coefficients method
developed
by Judd and Kenny (1981), Bindirect = 0.152 (a1 ∗ b1 = c-c′).
The indirect
effect in H3 was tested with Sobel, the results showed that the
z-value of
CSE was 2.764 (p b 0.01) and bootstrap 95% CIs [0.153, 0.717]
failed to

include 0, the indirect effect was therefore proven significant.
The
strength of mediation was at 44.75%.
Based on the above, H3 was supported by the results of both
stu-
dents with and without AWE: students' PSSC, mediated by their
CSE, in-
deed affected their IC. However, in comparing the strengths
(66.18% N
Table 3
Regression coefficients for the mediation models of creative
self-efficacy.
Variable Award-winning students (n = 335) Non-award-winning
students (n = 385)
Individual creativity (Y) CSE (M) Individual creativity (Y) CSE
(M)
Model 1 Model 3 Model 2 Model 1 Model 3 Model 2
B p B p B p B p B p B p
Constant 2.828 0.000 1.025 0.000 3.341 0.000 2.988 0.000
0.903 0.000 3.873 0.000
PSSC (X) 0.539 0.000 0.182 0.000 0.661 0.000 0.339 0.000
0.187 0.000 0.282 0.006
CSE (M) 0.540 0.000 0.539 0.000
R2 0.155 0.000 0.605 0.000 0.131 0.000 0.051 0.000 0.554
0.000 0.020 0.006
Quantifying indirect effects

c = 0.539 a1 = 0.661 c = 0.339 a1 = 0.282
c′ = 0.182 b1 = 0.540 c′ = 0.187 b1 = 0.539
c-c′ = 0.357 a1 ∗ b1 = 0.357 c-c′ = 0.152 a1 ∗ b1 = 0.152
Testing indirect effects
Sobel test (Z) 6.643 0.000 2.764 0.006
Bootstrap 95% (CI) [0.507, 0.873] [0.153, 0.717]
Strength of mediation, SM (%) 66.18% 44.75%
Note. n = 720. Unstandardized regression coefficients are
reported. Bootstrap sample size = 10,000. PSSC = perceived
school support for creativity; CSE = creative self-efficacy. CI =
confidence interval.
(2016) 291–298
44.75%) and the quantifications (0.357 N 0.152) of mediation,
students
with AWE were higher in both than the ones without. The
estimated re-
sults of this mediation model are shown in Fig. 3.
4.3. Hypotheses testing for moderated mediation
In testing the moderated mediation of PSSC proposed in H5,
data
were analyzed using PROCESS Model 74 of Hayes (2013) to
see if they
supported the hypotheses. We estimated and examined the
conditional
indirect effect(s) of this moderated mediation model as follows:
(1)
PSSC has to significantly predict CSE (X → M, a1); (2) CSE
has to signif-
icantly predict IC (M → Y, b1); (3) the interaction between
PSSC and CSE

has to significantly predict IC (XM → Y, b2); (4) the
moderation of PSSC
has to significantly predict student creativity via the mediation
of stu-
dents' CSE (a1(b1 + b2X) → Y, c′).
The regression coefficients of moderated mediation are shown
in
Table 4. For students with AWE, the results illustrated that their
PSSC
significantly predicted their CSE (a1 = 0.661, t = 7.077, p b
0.001);
Table 4
Regression coefficients of the moderated mediation model of
perceived school support for crea
Variables Award-winning students (n = 335)
CSE (M) IC (Y)
B t p B t p
Constant iM 3.341 12.471 0.000 iY 4.309 140.997 0.0
PSSC (X) a1 0.660 7.077 0.000 c′ 0.186 3.724 0.0
CSE (M) – – – b1 0.544 19.825 0.0
X × M – – – b2 0.116 3.060 0.0
R2 = 0.131 R2 = 0.616
F (1, 333) = 50.077 0.000 F (3, 331) = 177.064 0.0
Note. N = 720. Unstandardized regression coefficients are
reported. Bootstrap sample size = 1
c'=.182***
CSE

(M)
CSE
(M)
PSSC
(X)
PSSC
(X)
IC
(Y)
IC
(Y)
a1=.661*** b1=.540***
SM=66.18%
c=.539***
PSSC
(X)
PSSC
(X)
IC
(Y)
IC
(Y)
AWE Students (n = 335)
Fig. 3. Estimated results of the mediation of cr

their CSE significantly predicted their IC (b1 = 0.544, t =
19.825,
p b 0.001); and the interaction between their PSSC and their
CSE signif-
icantly predicted their IC (b2 = 0.116, t = 3.060, p b 0.01).
These proved
that H4 was supported. Additionally, the moderation of PSSC
signifi-
cantly predicted IC via the mediation of CSE (c′ = 0.186, p b
0.001);
the support for H5 was thereby also confirmed. This
demonstrates
that the moderation of students' PSSC has a positive effect on
their IC
via the mediation of their CSE. CSE serves not only as a
mediator vari-
able, but also a moderated variable.
For students without AWE, their PSSC significantly predicted
their
CSE (a1 = 0.282, t = 2.792, p b 0.01); their CSE significantly
predicted
their IC (b1 = 0.533, t = 20.188, p b 0.001); but the interaction
between
their PSSC and their CSE failed to significantly predict their IC
(b2 =
0.049, t = 1.202, p N 0.05); H4 was therefore not supported.
This sig-
nifies that the moderation of PSSC did not have a positive effect
on IC
via the mediation of CSE. In this case, CSE served as a
mediator variable,
but not a moderated variable. The estimated results of this
moderated
mediation model are shown in Fig. 4.
tivity.

Non-award-winning students (n = 385)
CSE (M) IC (Y)
B t p B t p
00 iM 0.000 0.000 1.000 iY 3.936 131.030 0.000
00 a1 0.282 2.792 0.006 c′ 0.177 3.383 0.001
00 – – – b1 0.533 20.188 0.000
02 – – – b2 0.049 1.202 0.230
R2 = 0.02 R2 = 0.556
00 F (1, 383) = 7.793 0.006 F (3, 381) = 158.907 0.000
0,000. PSSC = perceived school support for creativity.
c'=.187**
CSE
(M)
CSE
(M)
PSSC
(X)
PSSC
(X)
IC
(Y)
IC
(Y)

a1=.282** b1=.539***
SM=44.75%
c=.339***
PSSC
(X)
PSSC
(X)
IC
(Y)
IC
(Y)
Non-AWE Students (n = 385)
eative self-efficacy. **p b 0.01. ***p b 0.001.
c'=.186***
CSE
(M)
PSSC
(X)
IC
(Y)
a1=.661*** b1=.544***

c'=.177**
CSE
(M)
PSSC
(X)
IC
(Y)
a1=.282** b1=.533***
b2=.116** b2=.049
AWE students (n = 335) Non-AWE students (n = 385)
Fig. 4. Estimated results for the moderated mediation model of
perceived school support for creativity. **p b 0.01. ***p b
0.001.
(2016) 291–298
The conditional indirect effects (CIE) of PSSC were examined
among
students with AWE, using the bootstrapped 95% CI, to see
whether the
results were different between the times when it (PSSC) was
high and
when it was low: if the 95% CI of the CIE included 0, the CIE
would be
deemed insignificant; if it did not include 0, the CIE would be
deemed
significant. As illustrated in Table 5, at neither time did the
95% CI of
the CIE include 0: when PSSC was low (M-1SD; 95%CI [0.214,
0.417]),

and when PSSC as high (M + 1SD; 95%CI [0.272, 0.545]);
which
means that PSSC, regardless of it being high or low, had
significant CIE
on student creativity (see Fig. 5).
5. Conclusions and recommendations
5.1. Conclusion and discussion
5.1.1. Creative self-efficacy mediates the effect of perceived
school support
for creativity on individual creativity
The results of our analyses show that students with AWE have
higher CSE and CI than those without AWE, but there is no
difference
between their PSSC. Students' PSSC is found to have a
significant posi-
tive direct effect on their IC, which is line with the result of
earlier stud-
ies (Amabile & Gryskiewicz, 1989; Hsiao, 2011); and to have a
significant positive direct effect on their CSE, which also
concurs with
earlier findings (Chong & Ma, 2010; Liang & Wei, 2013). Our
results con-
firmed the positive indirect effect (partial mediation) of CSE
between
PSSC and IC, as did the results of earlier studies (Choi, 2004,
2012; Hsu
et al., 2014; Liang & Chang, 2014; Liang & Wei, 2013; Tierney
&
Farmer, 2004); and in accordance with Amabile's assertion of
contextu-
al factors being able to affect individual outcome variables via
the medi-

ation of individual factors (Amabile, 1996).
Further examination showed that the strength of the mediation
of
CSE in students with AWE was higher than that in the ones
without.
This means that the stronger the PSSC, the greater it's strength
in en-
hancing the CSE of students with AWE, and thereby further
augmenting
their IC. It implies that PSSC is more helpful in enhancing IC
via CSE in
students with AWE. Such finding supports the conclusion of the
second
study of Karwowski (2014) which demonstrated the strong
positive as-
sociation between growth creative mindset (believing that
creative tal-
ents and abilities can be developed through dedication, effort,
good
teaching, etc.) and creative self-concept (e.g. creative self-
efficacy). It
reinforces the observation made by Beghetto (2006) that
feedbacks on
Table 5
Regression results for the conditional indirect effects of
perceived school support for
creativity.
Standard deviation (SD) a (b1 + b2X) Bootstrap 95%
CI
PSSC (XM) Boot CIE Boot SE LLCI ULCI
Low (M-1SD) −0.622 0.311 0.052 0.214 0.417
Mean (M) 0.000 0.359 0.058 0.246 0.472

High (M + 1SD) 0.622 0.407 0.070 0.272 0.545
Note. n = 335 (award-winning students). Unstandardized
regression coefficients are re-
ported. Bootstrap sample size = 10,000. PSSC = perceived
school support for creativity,
CIE = conditional indirect effect, SE = standard error, CI =
confidence interval, LL =
lower limit, UL = upper limit.
students' creative ability (school support) were positively
related to stu-
dents' CSE.
5.1.2. Perceived school support for creativity plays the role of
moderated
mediation on the effect of students' creative self-efficacy on
their individual
creativity
Moderated mediation of PSSC was found to happen only in
students
with AWE and not in the ones without. This indicates that the
PSSC of
students with AWE has a positive moderating effect on the
relationship
between their CSE and IC. The current finding coincides with
the results
of earlier research (Diliello et al., 2011; Hsu & Chiu, 2011). We
also
found that PSSC moderates the mediation of CSE, and that it
has a CIE
(moderated mediation) on IC. This finding supports the claims
made
by prior studies (Chang et al., 2015; Hsiao, 2011), and is also in
line
with the interactionist perspective that individual behavior is
deter-

mined by the interaction between personal and contextual
factors
(Schneider, 1990). This has significant implications in that it
suggests
that (1) by improving the PSSC of students with AWE, it is
possible to in-
crease their IC through the enhancement of their CSE; (2) the
CSE of
such students significantly enhances their IC; (3) by raising
their PSSC,
their IC will heighten accordingly.
As Bandura (1997) pointed out, self-efficacy allows an
individual to
apply and utilize his/her own ability and necessary resources to
success-
fully complete task(s) mandated in a given situation, thereby
obtaining
positive experiences. However, for students without AWE, their
PSSC
did not manifest the effect of moderated mediation in the
current
study. We suspect the reason to be their lack of positive
experience
(award-winning). The encouragement from their PSSC alone
might
not have been enough to boost their CSE and therefore fell short
of hav-
ing a significant interactive effect with it, and consequently
failed to af-
fect their individual creative performance. This claim has yet to
be
proven by future research to determine whether the number of
an
individual's positive experience indeed plays a part in affecting
their IC.

Fig. 5. Moderated mediation of perceived school support for
creativity (PSSC) of students
with award-winning experiences.
(2016) 291–298
5.2. Theoretical and practical implications
CSE plays the dual roles of mediator and moderated variables in
the
current study. Reviewing the perspectives of empirical studies,
social
cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977) marked CSE as an important
mediator
between PSSC and IC; componential theory of creativity
(Amabile,
1996) suggested that IC is affected by one's CSE, PSSC, and the
interac-
tive effects between the two (personal and contextual factors
respec-
tively). The results of the present study provided empirical
support for
the forenamed theories.
This study also found that CSE mediates the relationship
between
PSSC and IC in both students with and without AWE, and that
the
strength of mediation was higher in students with AWE than in
the
ones without. It may be inferred that the confirmation and
confidence
gained through the experience(s) of winning competitions might
have

the effect of raising the CSE of AWE students, thereby
encouraging
them to become more devoted while working, persevere through
ob-
stacles, be more resilient against stress and fatigue, and be more
persis-
tent in completing tasks; and therefore result in the higher
mediatory
effect of their CSE. Based on the findings of our study, we
devised several
recommendations for schools: 1. establish systems and methods
that
encourage the creativity of all school members so that a creative
climate
becomes the norm; 2. Design and offer positive psychology
courses that
may enhance the CSE of students, especially the ones without
AWE; 3.
Encourage students to participate in school, national, and/or
interna-
tional creativity competitions to help them gain confidence and
enthu-
siasm in working creatively; 4. Sponsor intercollegiate
creativity
exchange events so that the schools and students can be inspired
by
and learn from each other's creativity. Consequently, the CSE of
students
might develop and improve continuously by being immersed in
the cre-
ative climate of the school environment and through the
encourage-
ment and stimulation of the bountiful opportunities to compete
and
perform creatively.

5.3. Limitations and future research
Despite the value in its theoretical and educational implications,
and
our effort in being meticulous in the process of its execution,
the current
study nevertheless has the following limitations: (1) The
participants
were limited to fourth-year design-major students from
universities of
science and technology in Taiwan, the results might not be
generaliz-
able to students of other years, majors, or countries; (2) The
mea-
sures/scales used were all developed by Western researchers
that, in
spite of their proven reliability and validity, inevitably are
restricted
by their social and cultural limitations, thereby opening the
door to pos-
sible measurement errors; (3) IC was gauged by self-report
measures,
so the responses were susceptible to social desirability bias. We
recom-
mend that future studies incorporate information/data from
various
sources, including objective indicators (such as creative works
and win-
ning records from creative competitions, etc.) or evaluations of
creative
performances (from teachers and team members, etc.), in their
assess-
ment of IC. This will enable the researchers to obtain a more
compre-
hensive evaluation of creativity, and to avoid probable
measurement

error stemming from social desirability bias.
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http://refhub.elsevier.com/S1041-6080(16)30212-6/rf0295Do
award-�winning experiences benefit students' creative self-
�efficacy and creativity? The moderated mediation effects of
...1. Introduction2. Theoretical background and hypotheses

development2.1. Mediation of creative self-efficacy2.2.
Moderated mediation of perceived school support for
creativity3. Research design3.1. Participants3.2. Research
framework and method3.3. Measures3.3.1. Measure of creative
self-efficacy3.3.2. Measure of perceived school support for
creativity3.3.3. Measure of individual creativity3.3.4.
Discriminant validity between measures4. Results and
analysis4.1. Descriptive statistical analysis4.2. Hypotheses
testing for mediation4.3. Hypotheses testing for moderated
mediation5. Conclusions and recommendations5.1. Conclusion
and discussion5.1.1. Creative self-efficacy mediates the effect
of perceived school support for creativity on individual
creativity5.1.2. Perceived school support for creativity plays the
role of moderated mediation on the effect of students' creative
se...5.2. Theoretical and practical implications5.3. Limitations
and future researchReferences
350
ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/
ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/
IMPROVING OF STUDENTS’
CREATIVE THINKING THROUGH
PURDUE MODEL IN SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Nilay Şener,
Erol Taş
Introduction
A person uses science, which is a part of everyday life, in order
to un-

derstand and adopt to the environment in which he/she lives no
matter how
old he/she is. Tendency towards science starts at very early age.
The age at
which children ask questions constantly and inquire about
everything is
between 6 and 14 and they mostly inquire about science at these
ages. As
these students at this age learn a new subject, they keep asking
questions
about that subject and this creates a desire to learn more about
it (Gürdal,
1992). Through science education, the children ask questions in
order to
understand the events that occur around their environment and
their curi-
osity increases by facing a new problem with every question.
They develop
themselves using the scientific process skills to solve the
problems they have
faced. They use the solutions they produce and the information
they learn in
order to solve the new problems they confront in their real life.
Consequently,
the child will have gained the skills that make his daily life
easier. Thus, sci-
ence education will enable the child to produce solutions by
applying the
information they acquire to new situations and allow them to
develop their
creative thinking skills.
Creative Thinking
The first scientific research on creativity was initiated in the
1950s by the

American Psychological Association, headed by Guilford.
Different definitions
have been made in the literature related to the concept of
creativity, which is
tried to be explained by different approaches, and each author
emphasizes
a different direction of creativity (Demirci, 2007). Creative
things are both
original and in some way effective and indeed this is the
standard definition
of creativity (Runco & Jaeger, 2012). According to Bélanger,
Akre, Berchtold,
and Michaud (2011) identified creativity as the process to
surpass existing ex-
periences, take a step forward through the restriction of habits,
and form new
concepts in problematic situations at the same time not to be
restricted to
practice and the abilities to solve problems flexibly. Torrance
(1974) describes
creativity as being sensitive to the problems, inadequacies, lack
of knowledge,
Nilay Şener
The Ministry of National Education
Secondary School Özcan Duran Karagöl,
Turkey
Erol Taş
Ordu University, Turkey
Abstract. The aim of this research is to
develop a guide material prepared accord-
ing to Purdue Model for the ‘The Let’s Solve

the Puzzle of Our Body’ unit in the 5th grade
Science class at secondary school and to
research the effects of this guide material
on students’ creative thinking. For this pur-
pose, the research was carried out by using
the quasi experimental model, with pre-test
and post-test control groups. Experimen-
tal application was carried out with 43
experimental group and 44 control group
students, in total 87 students in Turkey.
While in the experimental group applica-
tions were carried out based on the Purdue
Model, in the control group the course was
taught according to the activities stated in
2013 Ministry of National Education Sci-
ence Curriculum in Turkey. The data of the
research were collected using Torrance Test
of Creative Thinking Verbal Form A-B and
Figural Form A-B. As a result of the research,
it was determined that verbal and formal
creative thinking levels of the experimen-
tal group and the control group students
were significantly different in favour of the
experimental group students. On the basis
of the results obtained from this research,
some suggestions have been made to the

educators and future researchers.
Keywords: creative thinking, problem
solving, science project, Purdue model.
351
Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2017
ISSN 1648–3898 /Print/
ISSN 2538–7138 /Online/
inconsistencies and determining the difficulties, searching for
solutions, estimation and hypothesising about in-
adequacies, changing the hypotheses, identifying a solution and
testing and revealing the results after retesting.
There are three features of creativity defined by Torrance
(1974); fluency, flexibility and originality. Fluency,
which refers to the amount of answers given by the student
about a problem. Flexibility can be thought as the
student’s potential to change from one type of thinking to
another one when creating solutions. Lastly, according
to Kuo (2016) originality is described as the ability of an
individual being able to come out with unique ideas, like
to do unexpected things or showing abilities different from
others.
Purdue Three-Stage Enrichment Model
It is one of the basic aims of science education to educate
creative and productive individuals who can es-
tablish relations between their daily life and science to meet the

requirements of the times we live in. It is needed
to educate individuals who analyse and interpret the information
through their own mental process after reach-
ing the scientific knowledge thus, who realize meaningful
learning. In this respect, science programs need to be
organized in a way that individuals know how to achieve
creative scientific knowledge that can produce original
products and in a way that they can actively solve problems. For
the education of gifted students who have these
qualities in their education systems, developed countries have
developed various researches and models, some of
which are the autonomous learning model, the Learning
Enrichment Service (LES) model, the Integrative Education
Model and the Purdue Three-Stage Enrichment Model
(Feldhusen & Kollof, 1978).
The Purdue Three-Stage Enrichment Model (Purdue Model) is a
program that has been developed and pre-
pared for the development of gifted students (Moon, Feldhusen,
Powley, Nidiffer & Whitman, 1993). The Purdue
Model was first introduced by Feldhusen, Linden and Awes in a
course that they teach college students in 1973.
Afterwards, Feldhusen and Kollof experimented in 1977
applying the model to gifted students at elementary school
level. The model of regular enrichment which is one of
students’ simple thinking experiences has gradually evolved
from simple thinking experiences to complex independent
activities (Feldhusen & Kolloff, 1986).
According to Feldhusen and Kollof (1978), the model includes
three types of educational activity. These in-
clude research activities that will allow (I) students to discover
and develop their own interests and thinking skills,
(II) group activities to help students use the knowledge they
learn, and (III) individual and small group projects in
which students can conduct real, life-related research. Every

step of the Purdue Model and the contents of these
steps are shown in Table 1 (Feldhusen & Kolloff, 1986).
Table 1. The content of Purdue three stage enrichment model
(Feldhusen & Kolloff, 1986).
Stages of Model General Content Detailed Content
Stage 1. Separator and Connec-
tive Thinking Skills
Integrated scientific process skills,
basic scientific process skills
The teacher allows short-term activities. He/she makes the
students
practice so that they can develop in the subject area
There is a balance between mental and visual activities.
Stage 2. Problem Solving
and Creative Problem Solving
Techniques
Group work on a problem selected
by the teacher
The practises are made in control of the teacher. Many research
and
investigation techniques are applied (such as brainstorming).
Stage 3. Independent Project
Study
Researching in depth It is in the control of the student. The
teacher is the guide. The subjects are
chosen individually or in small groups. The research methods

are applied.
The product obtained at the end of the study is prepared for
presentation.
The Purdue Model used in the training of gifted students is a
three-fold learning model of scientific process
skills, problem solving and project production. The first two
stages bringing the model to the fair constitute the
basis and preparation for the third stage. These three stages are
related to each other and they sport the develop-
ment of each other. For this reason, students are expected to use
scientific process skills to reach scientific knowl-
edge, conduct research, use creative thinking skills by
questioning knowledge, and solve the problems they face.
Individuals who have these knowledge and skills will become
science literate individuals.
Although the researches on Purdue Model used in this research
are limited (Altıntaş, 2009; Çepni, Gökdere,
& Küçük, 2002; Kutlu & Gökdere, 2013; Moon, 2004; Ünlü,
2008), many studies have been carried out separately
in science teaching in the three stages of the model, scientific
process skills, problem solving and project matters
IMPROVING OF STUDENTS’ CREATIVE THINKING
THROUGH PURDUE MODEL IN SCIENCE
EDUCATION
(P. 350-365)
352

(Aktamış, 2007; Bahadır, 2007; Batı, 2010; Çıbık, 2009;
Doppelt, 2003; Garrett, 1987; Kanlı & Emir, 2013; Korkmaz,
2002; Lewis, 2006; Yaman & Yalçın, 2005). However, since the
research on the three-stage Purdue Model used in
the training of gifted students is very limited, scientific research
is needed to determine the effectiveness of the
model on normal students. The research is significant to ensure
that the Purdue Model used for gifted students is
available for the normal students in public schools as well.
Thus, with the examples of activities developed for the
applicability of the model, its dissemination in science
education will be ensured.
It is one the main aims of science education to raise creative
and productive individuals who can meet the
necessities of the times we live in and relate science with
everyday life. There is a need for individuals who are
capable of achieving scientific knowledge, analysing and
interpreting information through their own mental pro-
cesses, and thus achieving meaningful learning. It is important
to raise creative and productive individuals who
can solve problems in different ways.
In learning environments that allow creative thinking, thinking
is highly valued in comparison to knowledge.
In science education, it is expected that the students should try
to attain knowledge rather than to memorize the
information and to assimilate the knowledge. Memorizing is one
of the biggest obstacles to creativity. A child’s
mind is full of creativity especially in primary school. Over
time, creativity starts to decline (Üstündağ, 2011). For
this reason, the establishment of educational environment that
will develop creativity for the 5th grade students
who are in transition period from elementary school to middle

school is significant in terms of not creating
memorization and developing creativity. In addition, according
to Piaget, this period is included in the students’
transition period from concrete operational stage to formal
operational stage. In this period, students should be
taught how to deal with a problem, how to reach the solution,
how to create a research plan and how to apply
it. In this process, the basic requirements they will often use in
science teaching are the scientific process skills.
Scientific process skills are, as well as the skills that scientists
use during their work, the abilities exhibited in the
solution of any scientific problem (Monhardt & Monhardt,
2006). By using these skills, students try to perceive the
environment in science teaching and learn about events that
occur in nature. At this point, Purdue Model meets
basic requirements such as the planning of research process in
science education and the problem solving and
scientific process skills that the student should have in this
process. It allows students to develop their potential
that exists beyond their academic success.
This research was designed to develop students’ creative
thinking in science teaching. When looked at the
three stages, Purdue Model is considered as a model that can be
effective in realizing meaningful learning in sci-
ence teaching and developing students’ creative thinking. For
this reason, in this research, it has been tried to put
forward the effects of the Purdue Model on the students’ verbal
and figural creative thinking skills, used in the
teaching of the unit ‘The Let’s Solve the Puzzle of Our Body’ in
the 5th grade Science course of the 2013 Science Cur-
riculum. In particular, the problem of the research seeks to
answer the following two questions:
1. Are there any statistically significant differences in the levels
of Torrance verbal creative thinking pre-

test and post-test results between experimental group (using
Purdue Model) and control group (using
2013 Science Curriculum)?
2. Are there any statistically significant differences in the levels
of Torrance figural creative thinking pre-
test and post-test results between experimental group (using
Purdue Model) and control group (using
2013 Science Curriculum)?
Methodology of Research
In this research, experimental research design was used. In
experimental research, it may not be possible
to assign the participants, who are always the nature of real
experimental designs, to the groups. In cases where
the controls required by experimental designs are not provided
or sufficient, quasi experimental research designs
that contain all the features of the experimental investigations
are used (Karasar, 2006; Mertler & Charles, 2011). In
quasi experimental researches, the choice of subjects is not
random (Cohen, Monion, & Morrison, 2000; Creswell,
1994). In this research, since the 5th grade students who are the
samples of this research are not assigned to the
experimental and control groups randomly, quasi experimental
research with matched control group is used.
The research was conducted with totally 87 students (43 in
experimental group and 44 in the control group)
from Samsun city in Turkey, during the first semester of the
school year of 2014-2015. While ‘Let’s Solve the Puzzle
of Our Body’ unit was taught to experimental group using
Purdue Three Stage Enrichment Model, the control group
was instructed to do the activities in 2013 Science Curriculum.

EDUCATION
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353
Sample of Research
In this research, experimental and control groups were
determined by using simple random sampling method.
Before research was executed, all necessary permissions about
research were granted by Turkish Ministry of Na-
tional Education. Before research was conducted, the classes
were established by the school administration, in
accordance with the registration list without considering the
students’ academic level. The experimental and control
group classes among the fifth grade were determined via lot.
The research was conducted with 87 students, 43
of which in the experimental group and 44 of which in the
control group in Turkey. Besides, all the students were
volunteers in research.
Instrument and Procedures
‘Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) Verbal A-B Forms’
and ‘Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)
Figural A-B Forms’ tests were used as data collection tools in
the research. TTCT Verbal Form A-B and TTCT Figural
Form A-B has been used with the aim of demonstrating how the

teaching of the experimental and control groups
in the experimental application process leads to a change in the
verbal and formal creativity of the students to-
wards science.
Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) developed by E. P.
Torrance, was published for the first time in 1966
in the United States to determine the creative thinking levels of
students. The scale has a wide range of uses from
kindergarten to the university. Statistical analyses of the scale
on its linguistic equivalence, reliability and validity
were made by Aslan (2001) and it was adapted to Turkish. The
test consists of two parts: ‘TTCT Verbal A-B form’ and
‘TTCT Figural A-B form’. While the A forms of verbal and
figural tests were used as pre-tests before the application,
the B forms were used as post-tests after the application.
Verbal test forms consist of seven subtests called ‘asking
questions’, ‘guessing causes’, ‘guessing consequences’,
‘product improvement’, ‘unusual uses’, ‘unusual questions’ and
‘just suppose’. The answers of the students for each
test were scored in three aspects as ‘fluency’, ‘abstractness’ and
‘originality’, they were added up and creative think-
ing score was formed. Sample question for ‘TTCT verbal B’ is
given Table 2.
Table 2. Sample question for TTCT verbal B.
Just suppose…
Now you will be given an improbable event. An event that will
perhaps never come true. You will
just suppose that this happens. This will give you the
opportunity to think about other exciting
things and use your imagination. Of course, if this improbable
event comes true… just imagine that
it happens. Then think about the other things that might happen

with the occurrence of this event.
In other words, what might the consequences of this event be?
Make as many guesses as you
can. That is the impossible event: Just suppose that a big fog
came to the Earth and only people’s
feet can be seen. How is this going to change the world? List
your thoughts and guesses.
In the figural part, there are three subtests respectively; ‘image
creation’, ‘image completion’ and ‘parallel lines
and circles’ Table 3. For the application of the TTCTs, the
approximate time was 75-80 minutes. For each of the verbal
and figural tests, one lesson hour was given and they were
applied separately.
Table 3. Sample question for TTCT figural A.
You can make interesting pictures or objects by adding lines to
this and the unfinished figures on
the back page. And try not to think about the figures and objects
that others cannot think of. Try to
make your picture interesting and tell a whole story by adding
your first ideas. Think of an interest-
ing title for each figure and write on the line next to the number
under each picture.
EDUCATION
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354

Aslan (2001) has conducted Turkish linguistic equivalence,
reliability and validity studies of TTCT. The Pearson
Moment Product Correlation Coefficient between the scores
obtained with the application of the Turkish and
English forms of the same group was found to be significant at
p<.01 level for all subtests. For the internal validity
of the test, an analysis of substance total, substance exclusion
and substance discrimination was performed for
all age groups. Significant results were obtained for all age
groups and all scores of verbal creativity test at p< .01
level in item-total and item-remaining analyses for seven
subtests of verbal creativity test belonging to primary,
high school and university age groups. In the figural creative
test, significant results at p< .01 level were obtained
in the item-total, item-remaining analyses; fluency, originality,
abstraction of the titles, enrichment, resistance to
early closure scores for all age groups including the pre-school
age group (Aslan, 2001).
Data Analysis
In the analysis of qualitative data, two types of analysis
methods are used: descriptive and content analysis
(Strauss & Corbin, 1990). While the data obtained in the
descriptive analysis are summarized and interpreted accord-
ing to the previously determined theme, in the content analysis,
the resulting data are analysed in depth to allow for
the generation of previously unfamiliar themes and dimensions
(Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2011). In this research, content
analysis method was used in the analysis of qualitative data
obtained from TTCT Verbal and TTCT Figural forms.

In TTCT verbal form, the answers given by the students in each
test were scored in three dimensions as (1)
fluency, (2) flexibility and (3) originality, and a creative
thinking verbal test score was generated. In TTCT figural
form, two separate scoring criteria; norm-based and criterion-
based were created by Torrance and Ball (1984). In
the norm-based scoring criteria, the answers were scored
according to (1) fluency, (2) originality, (3) abstraction
of titles, (4) enrichment, and (5) early closure resistance. In
criterion-based scoring criteria, the power of creating
a creative product was evaluated according to 13 different
criteria under the title of ‘the list of creative forces’
depending on the figural stimulus in the answers of the students.
These 13 criteria are (1) emotional expressions,
(2) storytelling, (3) movement or activity, (4) explanations of
the titles, (5) uncompleted figures, (6) synthesis of
the incomplete lines, (7) unusual visualization, (8) internal
visualization, (9) stretching or crossing boundaries, (10)
humour, (11) richness of imagination, (12) colourfulness of
imagination (13) fantasy. The total creativity figural
test score evaluates the thought product according to 18
different measures including the list of creative forces.
In the analysis of the scores obtained from the TTCT verbal and
formal A-B forms, the answers given by the
students were taken into account according to the above-
mentioned evaluation criteria for the verbal and figural
forms. The criteria to be followed in the scoring of the data
obtained from TTCT verbal and figural A-B forms were
made according to the Turkish scoring guide prepared by Aslan
(2001) considering the revision made by Torronce
in 1984. For each criterion in the scoring guide, categories were
given and the student answers were scored ac-
cording to these categories and the data were converted into
quantitative.

Before deciding on the method to be used in the analysis of the
data, it was checked whether the scores ob-
tained from each measurement tool provided normality
assumptions. In the analysis of the data that show normal
distribution, the two-way ANOVA for mixed measures was
used.
Reliability and Validity of Data Collection Instruments
The TTCT Verbal and Figural Forms were pre-applied to a
group of five students chosen from the 5th grade
students before the experimental practice. In preliminary
practice, the students were assessed from the point of
view of whether there were points that were not understood in
the questions or in the drawings and the duration
of the application, and necessary precautions were taken against
the problems that may be encountered in the
actual application.
After the experimental treatment (detailed information is
available in the following experimental implemen-
tation section), the reliability analysis between the raters was
used for the reliability analysis of the data obtained
from the TTCT verbal and the figural forms. Interrater
reliability is expressed as the consistency between scores of
two or more raters on the characteristics of different individuals
or substances (Aiken, 2000; Anastasi & Urbina, 1997;
Güler, 2008). There are many methods that can be used for this
purpose such as Pearson correlation coefficient,
comparison of averages, percentage of numbness and
generalizability. Inter- raters reliability is most commonly
calculated by the correlation coefficient (Güler & Gelbal, 2010;
Güler & Taşdelen Teker, 2015). The Pearson correla-
tion coefficient shows the linear relationship of the scores of
the two raters and their variation together (Baykul,

EDUCATION
(P. 350-365)
355
2010). If the correlation coefficient is less than 0.30 the relation
is low, if it is between 0.30 and 0.70 the relation is
medium and if it is more than 0.70 the relation is high
(Büyüköztürk, Çokluk & Köklü, 2010).
For the scoring of the tests, the researcher was trained
according to the ‘Torrance Creative Thinking Tests
Scoring Training’ under the supervision of a specialist. For this
purpose, TTCT Verbal Test A (20) and Figural Test (20)
forms of 20 students ten of whom were randomly selected for
the control group and ten of whom were randomly
selected for the experimental group were recoded and rescored
by two other specialists. The tests were re-planned.
The reliability of the research was evaluated by the researcher
and a researcher who explained the scoring guide
by the researcher, and another researcher who was trained in
scoring training. In the correlation analysis, since
the group number was N≤30, the Spearman-Brown correlation
coefficient which is one of the non-parametric
methods was used (Table 4).
Table 4. Correlation coefficients between the scores of the

three raters to the TTCT verbal and figure A forms.
Researcher 1th Rater 2nd Rater
Verbal Form A
Researcher - .934* .909*
1th Rater .934* - .858**
2nd Rater .909* .858* -
Figural Form A
Researcher - .907* .914**
1th Rater .907* - .915**
2nd Rater .914* .915* -
*p< .05
The Spearman-Brown correlation coefficient was used firstly in
the reliability analysis between the raters for
the TTCT – Verbal A Form. Correlation coefficients for the
TTCT - Verbal form were calculated as values ranging
from 0.858 to 0.934. The same procedure was performed for the
TTCT – Figurer A Form and the Spearman-Brown
correlation coefficients were calculated as the values ranging
from 0.907 to 0.915. This correlation coefficient value
supports the interpretation that the raters are compatible.
It may be wrong to evaluate reliability only by looking at the
correlation. The correlation coefficient is insuf-
ficient to calculate the reliability between the raters, since the
correlation value between points is independent
from the average (Goodwin, 2001). For this reason, the

difference between the points average of the raters must
also be tested. The results of the Friedman test which was used
to test the differences between the rankings of the
priorities for TTCT Verbal and Figural Form scores of the raters
in the research, are given in Table 5.
Table 5. Friedman test results of TTCT verbal /figural form
scores by inter-raters.
Mean Rank N χ2 df p
TTCT Verbal Form A
Researcher 132.60 20 3.90 2 .142
1th Rater 125.60
2nd Rater 122.40
TTCT Figural Form A
Researcher 91.55 20 3.60 2 .165
1th Rater 89.00
2nd Rater 93.65
According to the Friedman test results shown in Table 5, the
difference between the raters score of TTCT
Verbal and Figural Form papers was not found significant
statistically (p< .05). As a result, it was observed that
there was a significant positive correlation between the scores
of the different raters and there was no significant
difference between the scores. These results show that the
scores obtained from TTCT Verbal and Figural Forms
are consistent results in data analysis.

EDUCATION
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356
Experimental Implementation
In experimental treatment ‘The Let’s Solve the Puzzle of Our
Body’ unit was processed with activities based on
Purdue Model in experimental group for 9 weeks while in the
control group, teaching was done by using the book
of 2013 Science Curriculum (MoNE, 2015). In the control
group, the science teacher used the methods of lecture,
question-answer and experiment.
In the experimental group during the experimental treatment
process, firstly the experimental group was
informed about the project activities and the project groups
were formed at the beginning of the semester. The
experimental group was divided into heterogeneous groups of 4-
5 persons by taking the pre-test scores and the
opinions of the Science teachers into consideration in order to
carry out pre-implementation group studies. Students
were asked to form a research problem by concentrating on the
topics they were curious about ‘The Let’s Solve the
Puzzle of Our Body’ unit. On this subject, the students have

been asked for brainstorming in order to make a list on
what they know and what they want to know. First of all,
project groups have prepared their proposal form and
have submitted to the teacher. After the subjects of project
which are examined by the teacher have been accepted,
every group has started working on their subject. Afterwards,
the students have been asked for making a project
planning based on the problem of research that they have
determined and practicing it. For this purpose, groups
have created a project calendar. They have noted the things they
need to do on this calendar week by week until
the presentation of the project. At the end of the unit, they have
been asked for doing presentations about the
projects they prepared in the classroom.
Scientific process skills exercises which are the first stage of
the model, problem solving exercises as the second
and presenting the students projects as the last have been
carried out. The exercises used in the practice and the
distribution of the exercises according to the subjects are given
in the Table 6.
Table 6. Distribution of the activities used in the practices,
duration and related steps.
Subject Week Activities Period (min) Stage
Nutrients and Properties 3
Let’s Test the Nutrients 40
Stage 1
Explore our nutrients and let’s find out score of our friends 20
Determine the nutrient groups of our characters 10

Let’s compare the nutrients according to protein amounts 10
Let’s determine vitamins the characters are holding 10
Find the missing vitamins 10
What should we avoid for a healthy life? 20
Let’s answer the speech bubbles 20
Stage 2
Who is healthier? 20
Let’s evaluate Demet’s shopping bag 20
Let’s solve the Sinan’s family problems 30
Alcohol addict 20
Let’s prepare a nutrient poster 40
Stage 3
Let’s prepare a journal ‘Fight Against Alcohol and Smoking ‘
40
Nutrients Digestion 3
Let’s sort the organs of digestion system 30
Stage 1
Digestion system 10
Let’s do crossword puzzle I 40

Let’s colour the teeth 20
The story of digestion 20
Stage 2Who will win the digestion bet? 20
Murat is dental check-up 20
How much does my peer know the digestion system? 40
Stage 3
Let’s make teeth model 40
EDUCATION
(P. 350-365)
357
Subject Week Activities Period (min) Stage
Excretory in Our Body 3
Our excretory system 15
Stage 1Let’s do crossword puzzle II 20
Let’s investigate our kidneys 40

Do we know our excretory organs? 15
Stage 2
The specialists explain excretory organs 20
Let’s solve the problem 20
What should we do for our kidneys health? 20
Let’s make a excretory model 40
Stage 3Let’s compose our scenario 40
Project presentations 80
In the first stage of the model, students have performed
activities based on scientific process skills. In the
second stage, problem solving activities have been used. In this
stage, mainly group discussions, brain storms and
problem scenarios related to topics have been used in the
problem-solving process. In the first two stages, the
students have been made ready for the project phase, which is
the third stage of the model, with the scientific
process skills and problem solving activity implementation.
Since, in order for the student to be able to create a
project, he should be able to create a problem, to be able to
research the problem and to use scientific process
skills during this research process.
Results of Research
The Findings Related to TTCT Verbal A-B Forms
The correctness of the hypothesis of ‘There is a significant
difference between Verbal scores of the Torrance Cre-

ative Thinking Test of experimental and control group students
when compared before and after teaching process’ has
been researched. The TTCT verbal pre-test and post-test
averages of the students in the experimental and control
groups are given in Table 7.
Table 7. Descriptive data related to TTCT verbal pre-test and
post-test scores.
Group N Mean Median Mode Std. Deviation Skewness Kurtosis
Variance
Pre
Experimental 43 65.12 64.00 65 11.94 1.099 -1.410 142.581
Control 44 60.50 61.00 61 11.35 0.448 -0.175 128.767
Post
Experimental 43 169.51 171.00 171 44.72 0.285 -0.811
1999.542
Control 44 94.45 95.00 95 32.89 0.507 -0.979 1082.114
Table 7 shows that the arithmetic average values of the TTCT
verbal pre-test (X
E
=65.12; X
C
=60.50) are close
to each other in the experimental and control groups. After
experimental practice, the arithmetic average of the
students in the experimental group (X

E
=169.51) is higher than the arithmetic average of the students in
the control
group (X
C
=94.45).
EDUCATION
(P. 350-365)
358
Figure 1: The difference between TTCT verbal pre-test and
post-test average scores of experimental and control
groups.
The change in mean scores of the TTCT verbal pre-test and
post-test scores of the students in the experimental
and control groups is shown by a line chart (Figure 1). As seen
above, TTCT verbal test scores of the both control and
experimental group students have increased during the
programme. However, the higher increase in the scores
of the experimental group is obvious. Two-way ANOVA for
mixed measures has been performed in order to test
whether the differences in scores are statistically significant and

Academic Summaries (examples)1. Alternative Energy. (n.d.). .docx

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