Impact of project-based learning on creativity levels of six-year-old children attending preschool

This experimental study with a pre-test/post-test control group design aimed to determine the effect of a project-based education program on the creativity levels of six-year-old kindergarteners. In the second semester (spring) of the 2002-2003 academic year, two classes of six-year-old children were selected from two kindergartens in Ankara, Türkiye: one class from Dr. Ufuk Ege Kindergarten (20 children) and one class from Sevgi Kindergarten (20 children). The two kindergartens were similar in characteristics. The class from Dr. Ufuk Ege Kindergarten was assigned to the experimental group, and the class from Sevgi Kindergarten was assigned to the control group. The total sample size was 40 children. The Torrance Creative Thinking Test Figure Section (TTCT), comprising Forms A and B, originally created by Torrance in the 1984 version and later adapted into Turkish by Aslan in 2001, served as the tool for assessing the creative thinking abilities of the children. Prior to the experiment, both groups of children underwent the administration of Form A of the TTCT Figure Section as a pre-test. Subsequently, after the experiment, the researcher individually administered Form B of the TTCT Figure Section as a post-test. The research experiment involving the project approach was conducted with the children in the experimental group, overseen by the researcher. The initial project within the study employed the 'teacher-based topics' method, one of the approaches to selecting project topics, and extended over a duration of eight weeks. The second project utilized the 'child-based topics' method, another approach to selecting project topics, and had a duration of two weeks. Overall, the educational program incorporating these project studies, which served as the research experiment, spanned a total of ten weeks. The researcher actively participated in the classroom as a co-teacher, dedicating mornings to noons for two weeks prior to the implementation. This allowed for familiarity with the children's interests and developmental characteristics, enabling guidance in accordance with the principles of the project approach. The children in the control group did not undergo any interviews or interventions between the pre-test and post-test phases. Their educational programs remained unchanged, as they continued with their standard preschool curriculum. For the intragroup analysis of data from both the pre-test and post-test within the experimental and control groups, the Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test was employed. Meanwhile, the intergroup analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U Test. In the results of the Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test concerning the scores obtained from the pretest and posttest of the TTCT Figure Section for the children in the experimental group, a statistically significant increase was observed. Specifically, there was a significant improvement in the total scores for figural creativity, as well as in the dimensions of fluency, originality, abstractness of titles, enrichment, resistance to early closure, and the creative forces (total bonus) scores in the post-test (p<0.01). The Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test was applied to analyze the pre-test and post-test scores of the children in the control group regarding the Figure Section of the TTCT. The results indicated that there was no statistically significant increase in the total scores related to figural creativity, as well as in the sub-dimensions of originality, abstractness of titles, resistance to early closure, and creative forces (total bonus) scores (p>0.05). However, there was a significant increase in the post-test scores for the fluency dimension within the control group, while a decrease was observed in the enrichment subdimension (p<0.05). The Mann-Whitney U Test outcomes pertaining to the pre-test and post-test scores of both the experimental and control groups within the Figure Section of the TTCT revealed significant differences between the groups. Specifically, the pre-test scores demonstrated a statistically significant difference in favor of the control group in the dimensions of fluency, originality, and enrichment (p<0.05). However, upon examination of the post-test scores, no significant distinctions were observed between the two groups in terms of fluency, originality, abstractness of titles, enrichment, or resistance to early closure dimensions of figural creativity (p>0.05). A statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group was identified in total scores and creative forces (total bonus) scores (p<0.05). Keywords: Preschool Education, Project Approach, Education Programs, Creativity, Child Development