Effects of teaching instruction, visual art activity, and social interaction on young children’s creative and visual thinking : an experimental mixed-methods study /

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Student Projects

2022

Fong, Ka Man Yasmin

Thesis

Kindergarten teachers often utilise artwork creation in their classroom routines under the assumption that visual art activities, such as drawing and collage, automatically promote creativity in children as they participate in activities. However, empirical educational research in understanding the underlying theoretical reasoning of the art learning process and evidence of its potential in supporting children’s learning processes is limited.Vygotsky (2004) categorized children’s creativity into a reproductive activity on the one hand, the common mimicking of previous experiences, and the creative activity on the other, the integration of imagination that goes beyond mere memory recall. Both aspects contribute to children’s creative development and can be identified from children’s produced outcomes, be it thought, movement or artwork. McKim (1980) further believed in an interchanging visual process between what we first see, then imagine, and eventually create. Their theory recognized visual perception as a critical contributor to one’s potential for creative thinking (Arnheim, 1969). Aligned with this theory, it suggests that visual art materials and their modalities could significantly enhance children’s creativity. Furthermore, Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory assumes that social interactions with peers and adults provide ample opportunities to facilitate learning compared to exploring by oneself (Liu and Matthews, 2005). Hence, the role of an educator becomes crucial in providing effective instruction strategies and facilitating stimulating visual materials to young learners to achieve a creative kindergarten classroom environment. In particular, the level of creativity in kindergarten children remains uncertain in Hong Kong, where the emphasis on academic achievement in education and child development is particularly high. Accordingly, this mixed-method quasi-experimental study tested the impact of teaching instructions, visual art activities, and social interaction on enhancing children’s creative and visual thinking. A sample of 60 Hong Kong kindergarten children participated in this study, divided into two social groups (teacher-to-child, n = 26 and peer-to-child, n = 34), which resulted in a total sample of 340 produced artworks that were evaluated. Findings indicate that the independent variables of teaching instructions and visual art activities significantly affected children’s creativity positively, whereas social interaction was insignificant. Children’s artworks were evaluated and reported to contain more creative elements when children participated in art activities with open-ended and scaffolded (creative) instructions, compared with adhering to the directive (reproductive) instructions. Similarly, when children engaged in visual art that included opportunities to manipulate tactile materials, they achieved higher ratings in their evaluated artworks than in activities that did not involve tactile manipulation. The social condition between teacher and peer-focused interaction reported insignificant differences between the two social groups. The results suggested that children were equally creative when their primary social contact was a teacher or peers.The findings further identified processes and perspectives within children’s verbalized creative thoughts when they created artworks. Case study examples contribute to understanding the learning mechanisms in children’s creative development, with implications for establishing potential teaching strategies for teachers to adopt and utilise in the kindergarten classroom. This study has highlighted the importance of teachers’ instruction and facilitation of activities towards children’s creative development in visual arts. It suggests that continued empirical research on the extensions of the investigated variables could support in-service and pre-service educators' endeavours for a creative classroom. Extended investigations into the multi-causal and complex issue of enhancing creativity in early childhood are needed to support future generations for innovation

LG51.H43 Dr 2022eb Fongkmy

https://educoll.lib.eduhk.hk/records/REbNXQ8j