Assessment of prospective science teachers' metacognition and creativity perceptions and scientific toys in terms of scientific creativity

Abstract

Creativity is a talent. On the other hand, opportunities should be given starting from young ages for its appearance and development. Creativity should be described as skills that involve working alone and cooperatively, giving time for listening, thinking and focusing, acting seriously when facing problems (Daglioglu, 2010). The fundamentals for the development of scientific creativity can be defined as a secure place, physiological freedom, a discipline that frees the person, intellectual argumentation methods, thinking of critical and creative thinking, authentic assessment (Duman, 2009). A need, a necessity or desire for solving a problem comes forward in scientific creativity (Terzioglu, 1993, cit. by Aktamis and Ergin, 2006). Hu and Adey (2002) de-fine scientific creativity as a process that consists of imagination, thinking, fluency, flexibility, originality, scientific knowledge, scientific problem, scientific fact and technical product components. The aim of the study is to assess prospective science teachers' metacognition and creativity perceptions and scientific toys in terms of scientific creativity. The qualitative and quantitative data gathered from the study were assessed comparatively with each other. The quantitative data were shown with percentages as well as qualitative data gathered from scientific toys were assessed in terms of scientific creativity dimensions: fluency, flexibility, originality and scientific knowledge. The results are shown in terms of four dimensions of scientific creativity for prospective science teachers' metacognition and creativity perceptions and scientific toys as a result of qualitative and quantitative data of the study. In the light of these results, recommendations were made for researchers. (C) 2014 The. Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.