Date of Award

Summer 1971

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Steeves, Frank L.

Second Advisor

DeRoche, Edward

Third Advisor

Nordberg, Robert B.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of a teaching strategy on a divergent thinking process. It was hypothesized that a teaching strategy would develop a specific thinking process. To test this hypothesis two large-group, brainstorming classes and three small-group, brainstorming classes to list possibles to list attributes, and to evaluate a situation, were conducted. The students involved in the study were seventy- two seventh grade science students, separated into two equal groups of thirty-six. The Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Test was first administered to each group. The results of the t-test indicated no significant difference between the two groups according to intelligence. The Minnesota Test of Creativity was used as the pre-test and as the post-test for this study. The section on the 'Circles Task' was used for the pre-test and the 'Squares Task' was administered for the post-test. Scoring on both tests was tabulated for fluency only. The study consisted of five teaching lessons; two large group, brainstorming sessions and three small group, brainstorming experiences, spaced one week apart. The statistical findings for the pre-test indicated no significant difference in the means of the two groups at the .05 level of confidence. The control group had slightly higher scores on the pre-test. However, the experimental group superseded the control group on the post-test. There was no significant difference between the scores of the pre and post-test for the control group. Again, the experimental group showed a significant difference between the pre and post-test scores at the .05 level of confidence. These findings tend to support the hypothesis that a specific teaching strategy does have some influence on a divergent thinking process. However, only one strategy and one thinking process was considered in this study. Other studies should be made to test the effects on other thinking processes.

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