ABSTRACT
How can we best help students to pursue scientific investigations? By understanding and developing their own creative productive behavior, students report that they are better prepared to think of new ideas for projects. This information is related to the development of self-regulatory behavior in adolescents, namely: forethought regarding actions, actual performance, and self-reflection after activities are completed. This research focuses on nine secondary school students from districts employing Renzulli’s Enrichment Triad Model (Renzulli & Reis, 1986), a program stressing the development of creative productivity. As a result of this study, self-regulatory behavior is viewed by studying characteristics of youths who pursued and completed scientific investigations based on their interests. This information was collected through parent and student surveys and student interviews. Based on experiences in their respective school programs, students revealed insights into how they matched their interests with ideas for projects (forethought), how they carried out their investigations (performance), and what they learned from their efforts (self-reflection).
