Deborah W. Tegano

RELATIONSHIP OF TOLERANCE OF AMBIGUITY AND PLAYFULNESS TO CREATIVITY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of tolerance of ambiguity and playfulness to creativity. The constructs were measured by the AT-20, the Adult Behavior Inventory of Playfulness, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Creativity Index. Tolerance of ambiguity and playfulness were significantly correlated .31 and .48 with creativity. The correlation of playfulness and creativity remained significant when tolerance for ambiguity was controlled. The discussion includes the role of tolerance for ambiguity in understanding playfulness and creativity, creativity as a multidimensional construct, and the use of the Myers-Briggs Creativity Index as a measure of creative style.

Sex differences in the original thinking of preschool and elementary school children

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the development of sex differences in the creative potential of preschool and early elementary school children. Preschool, first‐, and third‐grade children (N = 188) received the Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure (MSFM). The MSFM assesses creative potential in terms of popular and original responses (ideational fluency). Comparisons of the three groups of children indicated that sex differences emerged throughout early elementary school. No sex differences were found within the preschool sample; but by third‐grade, boys were found to score significantly higher than girls on both popular and original responses. These findings were discussed with regard to evaluation, conformity, assimilative strategies, and the environmental factors which might affect creative potential.

Conditions and Contexts for Teacher Inquiry: Systematic Approaches to Preservice Teacher Collaborative Experiences

The focus of this article is to describe a social organization of instruction and identify the conditions and contexts of critical classroom inquiry that are essential components of contemporary teacher education programs. Novice teachers must develop both the need to know and dispositions for knowing in order to move away from transmission-oriented teaching and learning toward inquiry-oriented practice. Theoretical arguments for and practical applications of inquiry within teacher education programs are described, including: (a) recursive cycles of inquiry, (b) reflective practice, (c) continuity of experiences within critical friend teaching partnerships, (d) discourse and documentation (making visible childrens and teachers’ thinking), and (e) the role of teacher educators in creating contexts of need for classroom inquiry. These are discussed and applied across four levels of contiguous courses and related practica. Selected examples of the processes and products that exemplify the development of preservice teacher collaborative inquiry within an early childhood, fifth-year teacher education program are included, although applications may be extended to the broader field of teacher education.

Length of Activity Periods and Play Behaviors of Preschool Children

Abstract This study examined the effects of activity period duration on childrens play in playdough and block activities. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed that significantly more constructive play was found at the end of childrens play sessions. Though not significant, there was also less functional and more dramatic play at the end of the play period. Differences were found between the quality of play in the block and the playdough centers. Recommendations were made for early childhood educators to reexamine the importance of longer play periods in planning daily schedules and activities.

Cross-Validation of Two Creativity Tests Designed for Preschool Children.

Two tests, designed to assess ideational fluency through different response modes, were administered to 24 middle-class preschool children. The Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure (MSFM) requires verbal responses to verbal and visual-tactile stimuli. Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM) employs a kinesthetic, nonverbal response mode to verbal and visual-tactile stimuli. Concurrent and construct validity were established for these two instruments. Significant intercorrelations among the subtests of each instrument demonstrated construct validity, and concurrent validity was established with Spearman rank-order correlations between the scores of the two tests, r=.55, p<.01. The results showed construct validity in that ideational fluency assessed via the two instruments was not related to IQ. The low correlations found between subtest D of the TCAM and all of the subtests of the MSFM were discussed with regard to differences in response modality and stimulus specificity.

Constructive play and problem solving: The role of structure and time in the classroom

Play behaviors of 40 children were observed to determine the relationship of time, child and teachers activity structure and the potential for problem solving. Second‐order partial correlations showed that constructive play was correlated with the childs level of structure, r = .33 [controlling for length of activity and teachers planned level of structure]; and constructive play was negatively correlated with teachers planned level of structure, r =‐.22 [controlling for length of activity and childs level of structure]. In this study constructive play is conceptualized as a part of the problem solving process. The data indicate that as the child imposes higher structure on an activity, the amount of constructive play increases; whereas when the teacher imposes structure, constructive play decreases. Early childhood educators may examine the structure of activities along several dimensions in encouraging the potential for problem: solving in the classroom.

DEVELOPMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF DIMENSIONALITY AND PRESENTATION MODE ON ORIGINAL THINKING OF CHILDREN

A sample of 188 children in three age groups, preschool, first and third grades, were administered the Patterns Task of the Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure in four test conditions. The conditions systematically varied dimension (three or two) and presentation mode (handling or nonhandling). The fluency measure assessed ideational fluency, popular and original responses, as a measure of creative potential in young children. Analysis showed that dimensionality does not play a major role in the generation of original responses for any grade. However, handling 3-dimensional or 2-dimensional stimuli did appear to facilitate original thinking in preschool children. The use of 2-dimensional photographs which depict dimensionality appeared to compensate for the need to have 3-dimensional stimuli.

Designing classroom spaces: Making the most of time

Research has shown that childrens perception of the space around them is related to the quality of their play behaviors. Summaries of three research studies with preschoolers show that when children perceive themselves large, they enter complex play more quickly and stay for longer periods of time. The quality of childrens play behavior changed when children played in small spaces. In these three studies, space was altered by: (a) creating a screened structure in the classroom, (b) changing the scale of the patterns on the wall of a learning center, and (c) altering the size of the block center. Each study is summarized and suggestions for designing classroom spaces are included. Implications of this program of research for increasing attention span and augmenting complex play and problem solving are discussed.