CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING LEARNING MANAGEMENT IN REAL LIFE CONTEXTS TO DEVELOP CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITY OF Grad 9 STUDENTS

Abstract

             The objectives of this research were to 1) compare the creative problem solving ability of grade 9 students before and after participating in learning activities based on the creative problem solving process in real-life contexts, and 2) compare the post-instruction creative problem-solving ability of grade 9 students with the 70% criterion. The sample consisted of 50 Grade 9 students from Patumwan Demonstration School, Srinakharinwirot University, during the second semester of the 2024 academic year. The sample was obtained through cluster random sampling. The research instruments included lesson plans based on the creative problem-solving process in real-life contexts and a creative problem solving test with a difficulty index ranging from 0.24 to 0.63, a discrimination index ranging from 0.46 to 0.81, and a reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.754. The statistical methods employed in the research included mean, standard deviation, dependent samples t-test, and one-sample t-test.

            The research findings revealed that 1) the students’ creative problem solving ability after participating in the learning activities (M = 18.28, SD = 1.36) were significantly higher than before (M = 11.09, SD = 2.87), at the 0.05 level of significance; and 2) the students’ post-instruction creative problem solving ability were significantly higher than the 70% criterion at the 0.05 level of significance. The mean score after instruction was 73.12% out of a total of 25.