Investigation of the 8th grade students' creative thinking skills

In this case study, we investigated the eighth-grade students' creative thinking skills. The Creative Thinking Test, which was used as a data collection tool and consisted of problem solving, problem posing and redefining tasks, was administered to 154 eighth-grade students. The students' responses were analyzed according to the fluency, flexibility and originality components of creativity. Task-based interviews were conducted with six 8th grade students. Theory and data-driven code books were created in the analysis of the task-based interviews. The creative thinking process of the students has been examined under three points; the stages in which valid and creative responses emerge, how students who create creative responses think and reasons for not producing creative responses. The results indicated that students showed low scores in all components of creativity. We determined that students' learning experiences and their desire to include different solution methods encourage creating creative solutions. Also, the lack of knowledge on subjects and concepts, fixation, a claim to include easy answers, lack of experience in creative activity obstruct in producing creative responses.