Fostering creativity using robotics among gifted primary school students

ABSTRACT

Fostering creativity as an imperative 21st-century skill has attracted increasing attention by educators and researchers in last decades. Many creative activities have been suggested. The current article describes the findings from a pilot study, which investigated the impact of a LEGO robotics intervention on fostering creativity among a sample of gifted, female students (n = 15) in a primary school in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The gifted students participated in a LEGO robotics-based program in a classroom setting for a period of 10 weeks (a total of 20 hours). The study adopted a pre-post test design in which the changes in students’ creativity was examined using the Creativity Assessment Packet (CAP). The results suggested significant differences in terms of creative thinking skills of fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and abstract mindset, prior to and after conducting the study. The results suggested a positive impact of a LEGO robotics intervention on fostering creative thinking skills. Implications for policy makers, school leaders, educators, and parents were indicated.

KEYWORDS:

• Creativity
• gifted students
• female primary school students
• robotics
• LEGO WeDo 2.0
• Creativity Assessment Packet (CAP)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ These criteria were selected to represent the Renzuli definition of giftedness, which is used as the operational definition of giftedness in Bahraini governmental schools.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Um Albaneen Yusuf Jamali

Um Albaneen Yusuf Jamali Specialist in Gifted Education. The Kingdom of Bahrain's delegate at the WCGTC.