Creative thinking patterns in primary school students' hands-on science activities involving robotic as learning tools

Hands-on activities in science learning are beneficial in enhancing creative thinking in students. However, scant studies have probed the nature of creative thinking developed by hands-on activities, particularly among primary school students and further investigation is thus mandated. Therefore, this study aims to explore the creative thinking patterns observed in primary school students when they perform hands-on activities in science learning involving robotics as learning tools. This qualitative study was conducted with six fifth-grade primary school students aged eleven years. The thematic analysis technique was employed to analyze the data and discover the patterns of creative thinking in the students. The data analysis yielded findings that revealed two processes representing the creative thinking patterns noted in students: idea stimulation and idea generation. Engaging in robotics activities stimulates cognition in students relating to the utilization of information obtained from varied resources such as their learning environments, past experiences, multimedia, and peers. Students then mentally process the obtained information to generate ideas. Their thinking process entails students using their imagination and reasoning to transform the available information into original ideas. Accordingly, the study's findings augment the extant knowledge regarding the nature of creative thinking in students as they engage in hands-on robotics activities. Practitioners could use this enhanced understanding to scaffold the experiences and imaginations of their students and cater to their creative ideas during the teaching and learning process. Besides, the diversity of student resources and imagination denote an important element that can be utilized during the learning process. Practitioners could also enrich creative thinking in students by incorporating imagination and reasoning supported by tangible tools such as robotics.