Content Analysis of Online Undergraduate Student-Generated Questions and the Development of Its Creativity Indicators

• Main Authors: Fu-Yun Yu, Chia-Ling Su
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Taipei University of Education 2016-06-01
• Series: Journal of Educational Practice and Research
• Subjects: creativity index; interestingness; novelty; online student-generated questions; usefulness
• Online Access: http://jepr.ntue.edu.tw/contents/list/detial.asp?id=119

In light of current research gaps in online student-generated questions (SGQ) (as most studies on the content types, forms, and performance criteria of SGQ are done in math, adopting a structured format, using a paper-and-pencil form, and paying less attention to affective aspects), the purposes of this study are: first, to analyze the content, forms, and techniques of online SGQ via content analysis; second, to develop the creative indicators for online SGQ and establish the validity of the devised indicators. For the first purpose, 792 questions generated by 54 student teachers during online SGQ activities were subjected to content analysis. For the second purpose, another group of 40 student teachers completed a consensus questionnaire, and the data were analyzed via repeated measures, followed by post-hoc comparisons. Four major findings were obtained: 1) with regard to the contents of online SGQ, connections to personal daily life and future personal goals were frequently observed; 2) most participants took advantage of the formatting, color, and graphics features afforded in computer technologies during online SGQ to suit multiple purposes; 3) participants exhibited versatile skills during SGQ; 4) questions with different levels of creativity differed significantly in terms of novelty and interestingness indicators, supporting the validity of the devised indicators. Yet, no significant differences were found in the usefulness indicator, supporting the claim that novelty and interestingness do not necessarily compromise the perceived usefulness of the generated item. Based on the findings, suggestions for SGQ, creative teaching, and future research are provided.