The Analysis of The Effect Of Removing Barriers On The Creativity Students ' Mathematical Learning

Nowadays, flowering of student creativity is one of the most important purposes of education. But in our country, due to the fact that creativity is effected by environmental conditions and factors, it is barely investigated, reviewed, and accurately programmed. For these reasons, the aim of the present study was to identify and removal the four group of the creativity barriers, and investigate their effect on students’ learning and creativity growth in math. This research is of an applied type with a sample consisting of 40 eighths grade girl students from Reyhane-Nabi school in Ahvaz City. The sample was divided into two homogenous groups: control and experimental. In order to train the experimental group, creativity barriers were removed and its effect on learning, creativity, and students’ interest in math was analyzed. Then the information obtained by descriptive and inferential Statistics was analyzed. Results of T-test for independent and paired samples showed that removing creativity barriers would have a positive effect on students’ learning and creativity, in math.


Introduction
Creativity is the rising value of our century.Schools of today aim to raise innovative and creative individuals that will fulfill the requirements of 21st century [1].Creativity is now regarded as an essential attribute to be developed in all children and young people.In particular, it is ackno wledged that possession of this attribute contributes to their personal development, decision making, and problem solving abilities.Given the ever increasing local and global demands of the 21st century resulting mainly from political changes, technological advances, economic growth, and social welfare issues stronger effort to encourage students' creativity has become a major necessity in schools [2].The creative thinking is all about questioning, coping with problems through new prospective, with the aim to get innovative solutions suitable for every area of applicability.Creativity let people develop a series of specific abilities making the most of them.Creativity has allowed the world to make progress, achieving knowledge, making culture and more http://www.ispacs.com/journals/metr/2017/metr-00090/International Scientific Publications and Consulting Services and more complex activities [3].Creativity is becoming a keyword in that it is considered one of the essential competences both to live in today's knowledge society and to build a "better future" and for this reason educational systems have started investing in the development of student creative abilities and skills [4].Fostering creativity in education through curriculum was initiated in the 1970s.It is discussed in school curriculum, evaluation, assessment, and benchmarking in higher educational institutions [5].Paul Torrence, who has developed tests of creative thinking, describes creativity as being responsive to problems, insufficiencies, lack of information, unavailable elements and inconsistencies and as identifying challenges, searching for solutions, making predictions, building hypothesis regarding deficiencies or changing hypothesis, choosing one of the solution methods and trying, trying again and presenting the results afterwards [1].Creativity is considered as a mean not an end, thus in the field of education, teaching and learning, it is introduced and observed to instill higher-order thinking skills in students [5].Creativity can be regarded as a natural part of every person's mental process.Creativeness may vary from one person to another, but a totally uncreative person does not exist.Accordingly, teachers and educators should acknowledge that enhancing creativity rests on the proposition that characteristics necessary for creativity can be helped to unfold in an appropriately stimulating learning environment.We are all born to be creative, imaginative, resourceful, artistic and innovative [6].Cropley, indicated that there is a need of creativityfacilitating teaching and learning methods and approaches that permeate the entire curriculum in all content areas and at all age levels.Furthermore, researchers stressed the need for further investigation on educators' implicit theories, perceptions and beliefs, especially in specific school subjects or certain domains of knowledge [7].The relationships between creativity and learning are also being investigated and the idea that there are basic skills and attitudes that can be fostered in educational settings as potential conditions/agents of creativity, has been widely recognized.Starting from some of the studies on personality (e.g.Barron & Harrington, 1981) where attempts have been done to identify a fairly stable set of personality characteristics and behaviours typical of the "creative individual", the idea has started consolidating that it is possible to design learning activities specifically aimed to foster/strengthen those attitudes and skills which are believed to be at the heart of the creative expression.Addressing those abilities and skills may require a change in the educational settings and practices, as usually school systems tend to invest more in traditional educational skills (e.g., literacy), rather than in creative skills [4].Based on the rapid changes in science, technology and communications; human needs to be more innovative and creative.Therefor both the family and schools need to enhance creative thinking students.The question is how can we expect to achieve this gold?Pre training in educational system, maybe the right answers.
• Being able to go through proses for inventing something new.
• Thinking of useful ideas in order to be able to heighten perception of our surroundings for a unique fruitful end.• Education will play a major axis [8].http://www.ispacs.com/journals/metr/2017/metr-00090/International Scientific Publications and Consulting Services But there are always some barriers in path of creative thought that people are unsuccessful in achieving it due to lack of awareness from such barriers or inattention to it.Additionally, merely not existence of barriers won't lead to creation of creative thought.Whereas encouragement factor of people is to apply this thought is stimulating engine of people in moving toward creative ideas and organizations who are encouraged to this side are more innovative every day and innovation is regarded as a way to save such organizations [9].Besides, creativity may also be affected by different barriers such as personality, environment, situation, motivation, cognitive development or even emotional and perception together with cultural, environmental intellectual and expressive barriers.these barriers are like blocks, which may hinder the performance of creativity skills.without creativity, a person is unable to access the fullness of information and resources available but instead is locked up in old habits, structures, patterns, concepts and perceptions [10].Although creativity is a predictor of achievement, it varies from classroom to classroom dependent on the teacher's view of creativity.A teacher's outlook can, therefore, serve as a possible barrier to creative teaching.In certain circumstances, teacher characteristics and the school structure itself can mimic and/or support one another.For example, autonomy is necessary for creative teaching.Autonomy can be a teacher quality, as well as a feature of the school system in the form of teacher control of curriculum design.Teacher characteristics can be examined alongwith the benefits and barriers associated with creative teaching in order to make suggestions for increasing levels of creative teaching [11].The past literature intense efforts are made toward embracing and inculcating creativity in education while little attention is given to remove the obstacles impeding creativity, particularly in academic fields.Despite the significance of nurturing creativity particularly in educational institutions, barriers of creativity have not been subjected to systematic analysis.Creativity is a regarded as the concern of education, in education; intellectuality, intelligence and innovation are considered as the product and outcome of creativity.Where there are outcomes, there are impediments that hinder these outcomes.Impediments of creativity should be examined empirically otherwise students will lag behind in this age of competition [5].Individual factors interact with environmental conditions can make a different personalities of person in relation to creativity.Students have more interest in working for achieving bright future, if they have high level creativity and this is when we identify barriers and factors affecting creativity [12].Barriers of creativity can prevent humans from unlocking the creative potential that they are capable of it.Barriers awareness should prepare individuals to recognize and then to avoid the barriers [6].Hence identifying and removal the barriers of creativity that stand in students' way is as important as fostering creativity among these students in educational institutions, That it may be seen as a process to maximize the potential of enhancing creativity.In this vein, this study aims at investigating the effect of removal the four group of the creativity barriers amongst one of Ahvaz city schools' students grade eight on growth learning level of these students in mathematics.

Research Methodology
A quasi experimental methodology was used to investigate the objectives of the research.The statistical population was all eighth grade students of Reyhanat-o-Nabi junior high school in Ahvaz.A random sampling of "pseudo multi-stage cluster sampling" was used in this study.To do this, a female high school among first period female high schools of Khuzestan Province, Ahvaz city was selected.Then one grade i.e. grade eight was selected among all grades.In a total sample of 79 students, 40 students were selected randomly.Forty selected students were divided into two homogeneous groups of 20 persons.Control group and experimental group each consists of 20 persons.Using mathematical post-test and mathematical creativity questionnaire, research components were estimated from the students' first and second semester average scores in mathematics.In order to remove creativity barriers, firstly, barriers were identified and after identification were divided ino four groups: http://www.ispacs.com/journals/metr/2017/metr-00090/International Scientific Publications and Consulting Services First Group: Education and Knowledge acquisition in the field of creative teaching skills, to the related teacher Second Group: Setting out curriculum content according to the time available Third Group: Providing educational aids and changing traditional mode of classroom space Fourth Group: Using active teaching-learning methods.
To remove barriers in the "first group", the researcher (teacher) investigates and studies the related articles and books to the growth of creativity; to remove barriers in the second group, attempts were made to select four curriculum issues of eighth grade mathematics book according to the predicted time limitation of research conducting (algebraic expressions, Pythagoras, inscribed and central angles and polygons).In order to remove barriers in the "third group" in experimental group, the class was held as a workshop and the students came together to form a group or a panel discussion.Using new and active teaching-learning methods (brain storming, exploration, collaboration, group activities and ...) in teaching, attempts were made to remove the fourth group barriers.

Research tools
Based on the proposed questions and research hypotheses and for data collection it was necessary to determine research tools.In this regard and to test the first research hypothesis, mathematical tests were used.Firstly, the average mathematics scores of first and second semester were calculated for 7th grade students and used as a pre-test to divide students into two experimental and control groups.Post-test conducted based on the issues taught during the period in experimental and control groups.Twenty scores tests have been used in pre and post test period.Creativity questionnaire includes sixty 3 choice questions.This questionnaire was designed by Torrens.The split half method and Cronbach's alpha were used to determine the reliability of the mathematical questionnaire.Finally, the mathematical post-test and creativity questionnaire reliability were calculated to be 0.71 and 0.91 respectively.

Data Analysis
After collecting given data using mathematical test and mentioned questionnaires, SPSS statistical software, version 20, was used to analyze data.In this regard, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to investigate and describe questions and research hypotheses.In descriptive statistics part, the mean and standard deviation indicators were investigated.In inferential statistics part, first, all data normality were investigated using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test at a significant level of 0.05.Then t-test was used for independent and paired samples data analysis.

Research findings
Here, research findings will be presented in two parts.Descriptive findings and research hypotheses findings.In descriptive findings part, descriptive tables including frequency and frequency percentage are presented.In the second part, the statistical methods of independent and paired t-tests have been used to test research hypotheses.Using these methods the hypotheses will be confirmed or rejected.

The average of students' mathematics score
In this part, descriptive findings related to the studied variables have been presented.Table 1, shows mean, standard deviation, the minimum and maximum scores in the average of mathematics score variable for subjects, which indicate the homogeneity of control and experimental groups.As shown in table 1, the mean and the standard deviation of the average of mathematics score variable in control group have been 15.82 and 2.96 respectively; and the mean and the standard deviation of the average in experimental group have been 15.66 and 3.14 respectively.http://www.ispacs.com/journals/metr/2017/metr-00090/International Scientific Publications and Consulting Services Table 1: Descriptive statistics of the average of mathematics score variable.

The students' creativity ability
Descriptive findings of the studied variables have been presented in this part.Table 2, shows mean, standard deviation, the minimum and maximum scores in creativity ability variable for subjects.As shown in table2, the mean and the standard deviation of creativity ability variable in control group have been 76.20 and 10.18 respectively in pre-test, and 76.60 and 11. 94 respectively in post-test.Moreover, the mean and the standard deviation of creativity ability variable in experimental group have been 79 and 18.85 respectively in pre-test, and 93 and 10.61 respectively in post-test.

The Students' score in mathematics
Descriptive findings of the studied variables have been presented in this part.As shown in table 3, the mean and the standard deviation of students' score in mathematics variable in control group have been 11.64 and 5.16 respectively; and the mean and the standard deviation of the students' score in mathematics variable in experimental group have been 15.23 and 3.99 respectively.

Normality
In order to investigate the normality of data distribution, one-Sample Kolmogrov-Smirnov Test was used to ensure that data have normal distribution.According to the table 4 results, the significance level for all predictor variables is more than the error level of 0.05 and the null hypothesis is confirmed.Therefore, the frequency distribution of research variables is a normal distribution.In this regard parametric statistical tests will be used to test the research hypotheses.Table 5 data show the number, mean, standard deviation and the results of independent t-test, degree of freedom and the significance level for the pre-test difference of creativity ability variable in the students of control and experimental groups.

Research Hypotheses
The obtained results from descriptive statistics indicate that the mean of creativity ability pre-test in the students of control and experimental groups is almost the same.According to the obtained results of independent t-test (0.084), and the obtained significance level (0.062) it can be said that there is no significant difference between the pre-test of creativity ability variable in the students of control and experimental groups.As shown in table 6, the mean, standard deviation and the dependent t-test of the pre and post-test difference of creativity ability in the students of control group have been reported.The results indicate that the mean of control group students' creativity scores in pre and post-tests is the same.According to the obtained results of dependent t-test (0.107) and the obtained significance level (0.916), there is no significant difference between pre and post-test of creativity ability in the students of control group (p>0.05).As the obtained significance level is more than 0.05 percent, it can be said that teaching based on traditional methods had no effect on the students' creativity in the control group.Descriptive findings also confirm this status.To put it differently, it can be said with 95 percent confidence that findings show the increase in the creativity ability of experimental group in solving mathematical problems on the post-test.Descriptive findings also confirm this status.Table 8 data show the number, mean, standard deviation and the results of independent t-test, degree of freedom and the significance level for the post-test difference of creativity ability variable in the students of control and experimental groups.
The obtained results from descriptive statistics indicate that the mean of creativity ability post-test of experimental group students is more than the control group.According to the obtained results of independent t-test (4.59), and the obtained significance level (0.001) it can be said that there is a significant difference between the students' post-test of creativity ability in control and experimental groups.As the obtained significant level is less than 0.05, it can be concluded with 95 percent confidence that there is a significant difference between the students' post-test of creativity ability in control and experimental groups.Hypothesis 2: By removing the students' creativity barriers the amount of students' learning in solving mathematics problem increases.Table10 data show the number, mean, standard deviation and the results of independent t-test, degree of freedom and the significance level for mathematics score difference variable in the control and experimental groups' students.According to the obtained results of independent t-test (2.769) and the obtained significance level (0.009), there is a significant difference between the students' mathematics score difference in experimental group and control group.As the obtained significance level is less than 0.05 percent, it can be concluded with 95 percent confidence that there is a significant difference between the students' mathematics score in control and experimental groups.

Conclusion
The results obtained from descriptive statistics indicate that there is no significant difference between students' scores average in control and experimental groups.Furthermore, the obtained results from dependent t-test and the significance level show that there is no significant difference between the pre and post-test of creativity ability in the students of control group.The obtained results from dependent t-test show an increase in creativity ability of experimental group in solving mathematical problems on the posttest and descriptive findings also confirm this status.Moreover, independent t-test results indicate that there is a significant difference between the students' post-test of creativity ability in control and experimental groups.In addition, the obtained results show that there is a significant difference between the students' mathematics score in control and experimental groups and the students' average mathematics scores in experimental group is more than control group.Therefore, it can be concluded that the students' learning can be increased by removing the creativity barriers.Creativity which is considered today as an important and decisive factor in the growth, development and progress of countries, has taken the attention of scholars and experts in the field of education for many years.
The reason is that creativity can lead to the individuals' growth and talent development and selfactualization.Therefore, in the light of the above, an environment devoid of creativity barriers can increase the students' learning.The environmental conditions play a very important role in emerging creativity.Two different students with the same capabilities create different outcomes in various and separate conditions and situations, because in general, suitable environmental situations to work and appropriate to the type of work, accentuate process of working.Therefore, considering proposed cases it can be said that classroom environment organizing and providing suitable conditions for creativity emergence can make students more active, lead to creativity growth and finally will lead to achieving the desired success.
• Make children sensitive to the surrounding.• Respecting children vies.• Paid attention to Creative environments in organizations such as schools.• Respecting the value of creative thinking of children.• Considering adequate rest period times in school programs.• Encouraging creative children for constructive criticism.• Preparing variety of knowledge in different areas for teachers.• Preparing live and active teaching methods.• Making teachers and students familiar with problem solving methods.• Preparing learning environments away from fear and shyness.

Table 2 :
Descriptive statistics of creativity ability variable.

Table 3 ,
shows mean, standard deviation, the minimum and maximum scores in mathematics score variable for subjects.
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Table 3 :
Descriptive statistics of students' score in mathematics variable.

Table 4 :
Normality test for research variables distribution.
Hypothesis 1: Removing creativity barriers increases the students' creativity ability.
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Table 5 :
Independent t-test, mean and standard deviation of the pre-test difference of creativity ability in control and experimental groups.

Table 6 :
The mean, standard deviation and dependent t-test of the pre and post-test difference of creativity ability in control group.

Table 7 :
The mean, standard deviation and dependent t-test of the pre and post-test difference of creativity ability in experimental group.As shown in table 7, the mean, standard deviation and the dependent t-test results of the pre and post-test difference of creativity ability in the students of experimental group have been reported.The results indicate that the mean of students' post-test scores is higher in experimental group.According to the obtained results of dependent t-test (3.28) and the obtained significance level (0.004), there is a significant difference between pre and post-test of creativity ability in the students of experimental group (p<0.05).

Table 8 :
Independent t-test, the mean and the standard deviation of pre and post-test difference of creativity ability in control and experimental groups.

Table 9 :
Independent t-test, mean and standard deviation of the students' average mathematics difference in control and experimental groups.

Table 9
data show the number, mean, standard deviation and the results of independent t-test, degree of freedom and the significance level for students' mathematics average difference variable in control and experimental groups.The obtained results from descriptive statistics indicate that the students' mathematics average in experimental group and control group is almost the same.According to the obtained results of independent t-test (0.167) and the obtained significance level (0.868), there is no significant difference between the students' average in experimental group and control group.As the obtained significance level is more than 0.05 percent, it is concluded that there is no significant difference between mathematics average in experimental group and control group students.

Table 10 :
Independent t-test, mean and standard deviation of mathematics score difference in control and experimental groups.