An Exploratory Study of Variability among Types of Creativity before and after a Two-week Intervention

Abstract

Creativity and learner variability are both recognized as important for today’s education context. Learner variability and creativity cannot be reduced to single dimensions or only account for cognitive traits. Therefore, this study explored cognitive, noncognitive, and background variables together to understand how types of creativity vary within the treatment sample and how malleable those creativity types are. Participants included 201 adolescent individuals (11-18 years of age) from China, the United States, England, and Australia. These participants took part in a two-week treatment focused on fostering innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurial mindsets. Participants took the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS) at the beginning and end of the treatment, identifying dominant domains of creativity. Demographic data was also collected at these times. Additional English language proficiency measures were utilized for non-native speakers. Consistent with understandings of learner variability, trends for association with creativity and changes across domains were diverse for groups and subgroups. Some cultural and gender stereotypes appeared evident in memberships across creativity domains. Additionally, potential treatment interactions could account for certain domain associations as well as domain changes and apparent side effects. English language ability, as a relevant cognitive aptitude, seemed to play a negligible role as measured within the study. Additionally, analysis of potential negative associations with the treatment found significant variability; however, some creativity types may have experienced negative trends to do treatment interactions. This research confirmed the variability that can be in creativity and highlighted trends across culture, gender, and treatment interactions, providing avenues for future exploratory and experimental analyses.