The effect of Creativity in Teacher's 'Nature' Professional Development Program on preschool teachers' sensitivity to creativity and educational practices

Creativity is a characteristic that can be continuously developed and supported. It is also one of the essential components of contemporary education. For this reason, creativity is a skill that needs to be nurtured to realize one's potential/self. Creativity develops by interacting with rich stimuli, facing challenging situations, and taking risks. It needs to be nurtured by conducting research, making discoveries, and encountering experiences that further attract and deepen curiosity in environments that provide these opportunities. Nature is a crucial resource that can provide these opportunities. Creative individuals are also needed for the sustainability of nature. This study aims to support teachers' sensitivity to creativity through a professional development program based on this mutual relationship and including practices based on nature experience, thus encouraging them to reflect this sensitivity to educational practices. This study applied this professional development program to ten preschool teachers working in four different public kindergartens in Denizli city center, and its effects on teachers' sensitivity to creativity and educational practices were examined. This research was designed in accordance with the concurrent transformative research type, which is one of the mixed research methods. Additionally, an pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design was employed in the study. The Creativity in Teacher's 'Nature' Professional Development Program, developed by the researcher and consisting of thirteen sessions, was implemented for six weeks, at least twice a week. Sensitization and Self Questionnaire for Educators & Teachers, adapted into Turkish by the researcher and whose validity and reliability study was completed, was applied as a pre-test and post-test. In addition, quantitative data were collected with the general information form and the first two parts of the general evaluation form, and qualitative data were collected with open-ended questions, general evaluation form part three, reflective journal, session evaluation form, and documents. Quantitative data were analyzed with the Wilcoxon Sign test and descriptive statistics, while content analysis was used in qualitative data. As a result of the study, it was observed that teachers' sensitivity to creativity increased, their teaching skills improved with their nature experiences, and they reflected this in their educational practices and implemented nature-based practices in their schools. In addition to the increase in teachers' sensitivity to creativity, their creativity was also supported. As a result of the teachers' reflecting on the personal development of their teaching skills (using communication language effectively, organizing the environment, increasing contact with nature), the school and family climate was positively affected, and cooperation capacity, confidence, motivation, and job satisfaction increased. These results were determined using the Sensitization and Self Questionnaire for Educators & Teachers scale and qualitative evaluation. When the teachers' nature observation forms and end-of-session reflective diaries were analyzed, it was seen that they were able to transfer their classroom learning environments to nature-based education and support children's creativity skills by using natural materials. Although the participants of this study were teachers, it was observed that children's creativity skills also improved as teachers reflected the supported creativity skills to their educational practices in their classrooms. In summary, the Creativity in Teacher's 'Nature' Professional Development Program, which included nature-based experiences, increased preschool teachers' sensitivity to creativity, and teachers reflected the knowledge and experiences they gained in their educational practices. Keywords: Early childhood education, preschool teacher, sensitivity to creativity, teacher professional development program, creativity education, nature education.