ABSTRACT
This chapter documents the measurement strategies undertaken to complete the first three tasks required for Stage 2 of the framework's development, designed to determine whether the elements that formed the conceptual framework in the particular case (small sample, Chapter 3, see Figure 3.9) could be extended to the general case (large sample). Stage 2 involved large scale testing and the verification of the identified and described elements of creative problem solving from Stage 1. Detailed tasks included:
Identifying and selecting a large-scale learning activity (the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians for upper primary and lower secondary school students) that would permit the expression and measurement of the creative process attributes through large-scale data collection;
Designing a measurement instrument (the “Systems of Reasoning Questionnaire” (SRQ)) capable of tapping into the cognitive and non-cognitive elements of the creative process conceptual framework, within the confines of the selected learning activity, identified through protocol analysis; and
Identifying possible factor patterns and the formation of scales using exploratory factor testing of the SRQ with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 10) in both pilot and main trials.
Confirmatory factor analysis (Part 2 of Stage 2 framework construction – tasks 4, 5 and 6) is detailed in Chapter 5.
