Relationships between Playfulness and Creativity among Students Gifted in Mathematics and Science

Cheng-Ping Chang

doi:10.4236/ce.2013.42015

Abstract

Globalization and the multitude of technological changes that have affected societies in recent years have introduced complex and diverse problems into the daily lives of individuals. Indeed, great effort is expended to create rich and abundant lives, especially in the age of the knowledge economy. In this context, “creativity” has come to be seen as the most precious human asset. Many scholars have suggested that foundational knowledge in certain academic fields is necessary for creative thinking. Thus, this study will focus on creativity in the field of mathematics. Additionally, many studies have found that playfulness enhances creativity and exploration. This study sought to explore the role of playfulness learning mathematics to gain in-depth understandings of the relationship between playfulness and creativity as well as the effect of playfulness on creativity. This study used questionnaires to collect data relating to the playfulness and creativity of junior high school students who were gifted in mathematics and science. Data were analyzed using SPSS17.0 to explore the relationships among dimensions. This study used a random-sampling approach to select a sample of junior high school students who were gifted in mathematics and science. A total of 360 questionnaires were distributed, and our valid return rate was 94%. This study confirmed that playfulness enhances individual creative performance and that personal playfulness can predict and has a positive influence on creativity.

Highlights

As science and technology have come to exert increasingly greater influence on the daily lives of people, mathematics education has becomes increasingly important (Lofland, 1993)
This study used questionnaires to investigate the playfulness and creativity of junior high school students who were gifted in mathematics and science
2) Current status of personal playfulness We used mean values and standard deviations to analyze the playfulness of students with high achievement in mathematics as assessed by the Personal Playfulness Scale; the results presented in Table 1 range between 1 and 5 points

Summary

Introduction

As science and technology have come to exert increasingly greater influence on the daily lives of people, mathematics education has becomes increasingly important (Lofland, 1993). Mathematics education is an important way to inspire students to develop the ability to think independently and logically. Mathematics courses can contribute the following to the education of students: 1) its emphasis on exploration and research can inspire curiosity, observation, active exploration, identification of problems, and application of learning in one’s life; 2) its reliance on independent thinking and problem-solving can nurture abilities to practice independent thinking and reflection, engage in the systematic evaluation of problems, and participate in efforts to effectively resolve problems and conflicts. The mental development of students, including the ability to think and deduce, are central to resolving the mathematical problems that arise in daily life. Mathematics is closely related to career development and the complete realization of one’s potential (Wei, 1996)

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Conclusion