Vika Fransisca
Volume 2, No. 3 March 2023 - (161-170)
p-ISSN 2980-4868 | e-ISSN 2980-4841
https://ajesh.ph/index.php/gp

FACTORS INFLUENCING CREATIVE THINKING IN PROBLEM-SOLVING
Agus Jaenudin
Universitas Sebelas April, Sumedang, Indonesia
Emails: agusjaenudin@unsap.ac.id

ABSTRACT:
Creativity is one of the essential components of 21st-century education. Someone is said to be
creative if they can think creatively. So creative thinking becomes one of the focuses in
mathematics education. However, some research shows students' creative thinking in solving
problems is still low. Therefore, analyzing what factors affect creative thinking in solving
problems is necessary. The research was conducted on 7th-semester students who have taken
transformation geometry courses with qualitative research methods. The data is retrieved using
tests, interviews, and study documents. The analysis showed that factors that influence creative
thinking in solving problems include learning conducted by the learning model, teaching
materials used, academic ability, and non-cognitive factors such as students' attitude towards
learning and test questions and confidence in their abilities.
Keywords: Faktor Influencing, creative, and creative in solving problems

Article History
Received: 10 February 2023
Revised: 10 March 2023
Accepted: 14 March 2023
DOI: xxx

INTRODUCTION
One of the main components in 21stcentury education is creativity (Sternberg,
2006) Sternberg, 2012; (Navarrete, 2013)
(Tindowen et al., 2017) (Kawuryan et al.,
2018) (Suryandari et al., 2018). Creativity is
undoubtedly
needed
in
producing

innovation. Creativity is often interpreted as
thinking related to ideas, imagination,
inspiration, intuition, and ingenuity.
Torrance
(Maharani,
2014)
defines
creativity as being sensitive to problems,
understanding knowledge gaps or barriers,
identifying difficulties, finding solutions,
formulating hypotheses, modifying and

Factors Influencing Creative Thinking In Problem-Solving
testing
developed
ideas,
and
communicating the results. If one can think
creatively, then this creativity will be born.
Therefore, the contemporary curriculum
emphasizes developing creative thinking
skills for learners (Vale & Barbosa, 2015)
(Sternberg, 2006) (Drigas & Papoutsi, 2018)
(Apriliani & Suyitno, 2016)m. So creative
thinking becomes one of the focuses of
mathematics education.
(Pehkonen, 1997) Creative thinking is
a logical and divergent high-level thinking
skill to build new ideas triggered by
different and challenging problems. Logical
thinking involves systematic and rational
processes verifying and making valid
conclusions (Siswono, 2010). At the same
time, divergent thinking is seen as a mental
operation that demands the use of creative
thinking abilities, including smoothness,
flexibility, originality, and elaboration
in mathematics problem-solving and
problem-posing (Haylock, 1997) (Silver,
1997).
Creative thinking is a whole set of
cognitive activities individuals use according
to specific objects, problems, and
conditions or types of efforts towards
particular events and situations based on
individual capacity (Birgili, 2015). This aligns
with (Potur & Barkul, 2009), which defines
creative thinking as an original cognitive
ability and problem-solving process that
allows individuals to use their intelligence
uniquely and be directed towards an
outcome.
According to (Silver, 1997) and (Mann,
2005), Creative thinking in mathematics

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162

emphasizes fluency, novelty, and flexibility.
Furthermore, in solving problems, students
can think creatively if they can show
creative thinking characteristics in their
thinking process. Based on Wallas's theory
(Kattou et al., 2015), the creative thinking
process consists of four stages: preparation
stage, incubation stage, illumination, and
verification stage. The locations of creative
thinking in detail can be seen in the table
below.
Table1. Stages of Creative Thinking
According to Wallas
Stages of Creative
Thinking According to
Wallas
Preparation
Incubation

Illumination
verification

Description of Creative
Thinking Stages
Able to collect various information
relevant to the given problem.
Temporarily escapes from the
problem and tries to find
inspiration. During the incubation
stage, the emerging ideas will be
interconnected and arranged in
mind without directly working on
the problem.
Start to raise an idea or idea that
s o l v e s the problem.
Solutions
obtained
at
the
illumination stage need to be
identified, examined, refined o r
developed at the verification stage
to get conclusions.

Based on the above definition,
creative thinking in solving problems is an
important thing that needs to be mastered
by students. Therefore, prospective
students of mathematics teachers need to
have creative thinking skills in solving math
problems. However, some research shows
that the ability to think creatively in solving
problems is still lacking. Based on (Maharani
et al., 2017), only 16.67% are complete in
creative thinking in solving problems. Also
analyzed creative thinking in solving
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Agus Jaenudin
problems. The results showed that the
highest students were reasonably clever,
not to arrive at a very creative condition. In
solving the problem, of course, searching to
determine what factors cause low creative
thinking in solving problems is necessary.

categorization, synthesis,
working hypotheses.

with

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Students' creative thinking skills and
causal factors are collected by conducting
written
tests,
interviews,
and
documentation studies. However, the first
is a written test of mathematical creative
thinking skills in solving the problem of
transformation geometry. Written tests
are used as early identification of creative
thinking skills in solving transformation
geometry problems. Researchers carefully
correct student work results as an initial
analysis, then recapitulate by grouping
student answers into correct, incomplete,
incorrect, and non-answering. The results
of the recapitulation can be seen in Table
2.
Table 2. Recapitulation of Creative
Thinking Test Answers in Solving
Transformation Geometry Problems

RESEARCH METHODS
This study aims to determine factors
affecting students' low creative thinking in
solving math problems. The research was
conducted at STKIP Sebelas in April with
7th-semester students who have taken
geometry transformation courses. The
method used in this study is qualitative.
Where the data collection is done using
written tests, interviews, and document
studies. Reported test results are the
primary data source to uncover the factors
that cause students' low creative thinking in
solving the problem of transformation
geometry. The written test is a matter of
creative thinking in solving the problem of
transformation geometry consisting of 4
questions in the description. Static
reasoning tests were conducted in one class
of 24 people. Researchers did not interview
all students who had attended the
geometry transformation course; only nine
people were interviewed. Students are
selected for interviews based on test results
and activities during learning. Document
studies are conducted on the teaching and
implementation of tests. Data analysis is
performed using the Fixed Comparison
method. In general, the process of data
analysis includes data reduction, data

ending

Answer (person)

No
Test
1
2

3
4

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163

Problem
Indicators

True

Incom
plete

Wrong

No
Answer

Use isometrics to
troubleshoot problems
Determine
the
isometric
of
a
transformation
Specify point mirroring
on a line

2

6

0

15

0

20

2

1

1

1

21

0

Specify

0

10

0

13

points

on

parallelograms

with

directional

line

segments

Researchers
conducted
further
analysis by analyzing each student's work
to determine which stage students have
difficulties. The steps of creative thinking
used in this study are those proposed by
Wallas (Kattou, Christou Pitta, Christou
and Pitta, 2016), which consists of four
stages: preparation and incubation,
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Factors Influencing Creative Thinking In Problem-Solving
illumination stage, and verification stage.
The student's creative thinking analysis
results in solving the problem of
transformation geometry show that
students have difficulty at each stage of
creative thinking. In contrast, students
have many issues at the location of the
process (Incubation and illumination) and
the verification stage.
After analyzing the students'
answers, interviews were also conducted

with students about the test questions,
learning, and teaching materials. The
interview was born with nine students,
where the student represented a high,
medium, and low group that researchers
obtained from academic grades (GPA) the
previous semester. Table 4.3 summarises
the results of the interview analysis of test
questions, learning, and teaching materials
used.

Table 3. Summary of Interview Results
Students
R

•

•

•

•
S

•

I understand the question
well, but some things are still
written in sentences. Not in
mathematical form
Know how to solve problems

•

The questions given are not
like the usual practice
questions, but they know
what concepts to use to solve
them
Test Questions

•

•
•
•

Learning

•
•

Teaching Materials

Students feel that the learning is not
allowing them to express ideas.

•

Teaching materials felt by
students back and forth

Teachers only focus on highly qualified
students.

•

Terms in some teaching
materials are different,
making it difficult for them to
understand them

The problem is given on the
test, different from the usual
question

•
•

Students

T

Test Questions
Do not understand the
problem well, so tend to copy
what is described in the
question.
When working on it. I feel
anxious and do not know how
to solve it.
Some students work but are
unsure of the answers they are
working on.

Some of the students did not
re-examine the results of the
work

Students can understand the
problem and write the
information according to the
mathematical term.

•

The learning does not allow them to
explore their abilities.

•

The learning tends to be centred on
lecturers. Students are passive, and
lecturers sometimes ask only a few
students to explain the results of the
work.

Learning
Students are satisfied with the learning, but
the training questions provided are less
challenging for them.

•

Teaching materials are lacking
especially
pre-quality
materials.

•

The term teaching materials is
not the same, so it is best to
use
customized
teaching
materials.

Teaching
Materials
Different terms sometimes confuse
students.

Knowing how to solve it, some
ideas come up to finish.
Some students
different ways.

spend

in

They believe the work is
correct because they double-

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164

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Volume 2, No. 3 March 2023

Agus Jaenudin
check their
collecting it.

work

before

Figure 1. Interviews with Several Students
In addition to conducting tests and
interviews, studies of documents used in
learning are conducted. Document studies
are conducted during the teaching and
implementation of tests. There are still few
books on Transformation Geometry in
Indonesian. Each book that researchers
analyze uses a different mathematical term.
For example, for "Mirroring" in the book
Agile Geometry Transformation Works
(Kurniasih & Handayani, 2017) using the
symbol "R," while in the book Geometry
Transformation (Setyo & Ba’diah, 2021)
using the symbol "μ." In addition to the
differences in terms, there are differences
in the order of matter. (Setyo & Ba’diah,
2021),
Transformation
and
reverse

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165

transformation composition materials are
given before isometry. In understanding the
material composition of change and reverse
conversion, students must realize isometric
material first. In addition to the analysis of
teaching materials, analysis of RPS
documents is also usually used. RPS,
commonly used in the mathematics
education program STKIP eleven April
Sumedang learning method, is still centred
on lecturers. So students are allowed to
express their ideas. Besides, the questions
given are procedural ones that do not
explore students' concept knowledge.
Document analysis is also conducted on
student academic achievement, where
some students have less ability in

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Factors Influencing Creative Thinking In Problem-Solving
prerequisite
Geometry
Transforamasi
courses.
Based on the analysis done on the test
results, interviews, and document studies
conducted, broadly speaking, the factors
that cause low creative thinking of students
in solving the problem of geometry
transformation are learning factors and
student factors. This study's results are in
line with those (Hendriana & Fadhillah,
2019) (Qadri, Ikhsan, and Yusrizal (2019)
mentioned that the lack of creative thinking
in mathematics learning is due to the
learning model used by teachers. The
learning factor in question is that the
teaching does not provide students with
opportunities to express the ideas they get
at the time of learning. In addition to the
learning model used, teaching materials are
also factors that cause low creative thinking
of students in solving the problem of
transformation geometry. In contrast, the
student factors in question are cognitive
and non-cognitive. Cognitive factors here
are related to students' academic abilities,
especially in materials related to
transformational geometry. Non-cognitive
factors are student anxiety when learning
mathematics and completing test questions
and students' confidence in their abilities.
The results showed that one of the
factors that cause low learning is that the
teaching does not allow students to express
ideas. As stated (by Rusilowati & Wahyudi,
2020), creativity is growing because of
opportunities to provide opportunities to
students. Some studies show that learning
that supports student creativity positively

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166

influences creative thinking (Mann, 2005)
(Tabach & Friedlander, 2013) (Walia, 2012).
Therefore, a learning environment is
needed that provides opportunities for
students to develop ideas that can support
the growth of creative thinking students in
solving the problem of geometry
transformation. As suggested by (Kozlowski
et al., 2019), the teacher's approach to a
learning environment that fosters the
affective nature of students could foster
creative
thinking
in
mathematics.
Therefore, developing a learning model
allowing students to express their ideas is
necessary.
In addition to the learning model, the
teaching materials used have a role in
students' low creative thinking in solving
the problem of transformational geometry.
Suitable teaching materials should be used
by students independently, thus providing
many opportunities for students to learn
them. Besides, the teaching materials used
should present problems that solve them
do not use the usual algorithms/procedures
to train students when asked to solve
problems in different forms. As stated
(Hidayat & Prabawanto, 2018), it does not
happen that when required to think
creatively in solving problems, the solution
still uses the usual procedures/algorithms.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop
teaching materials in mathematics learning,
especially
transformation
geometry
materials. As stated (by Siniguian 2017),
teaching materials are one solution to
overcome learners' difficulties in solving
mathematical problems. Of course, the

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Agus Jaenudin
teaching materials developed must contain
strategies that can help students solve
problems (Fitriyah et al., 2018).
Academic ability is the next factor that
causes students' low creative thinking in
solving transformational geometry. This is
following research conducted by (Samsiyah
& Rudyanto, 2015) (Maharani et al., 2017)
(Sari et al., 2017) (Puspitasari et al., 2018)
and (Yayuk & As’ ari, 2020) stated that
students with low abilities showed that they
had difficulty in understanding problems, in
contrast to high-ability learners who could
solve problems. Learning conducted should
facilitate all students with low, medium,
and high academic abilities.
Other factors that cause students' lack
of
creative
thinking
in
solving
transformation geometry problems are
non-cognitive factors such as students'
attitudes towards learning and test
questions and students' belief in their
abilities. The results of (Semeraro et al.,
2020) show that non-cognitive factors
(mathematical anxiety and self-esteem)
influence the results of mathematics
learning. Therefore, developing a learning
strategy that provides opportunities for
students to develop their cognitive abilities
and knowledge that pays attention to
learners' non-cognitive aspects is necessary.
CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis done on the test
results, interviews, and document studies
conducted, broadly speaking, the factors
that cause low creative thinking of students
in solving the problem of geometry
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167

transformation are learning factors and
student factors. The learning factor in
question is that the learning done does not
provide students with opportunities to
express the ideas they get at the time of
knowledge. In addition to the learning
model used, teaching materials are also
factors that cause low creative thinking of
students in solving the problem of
transformation geometry. In contrast, the
student factors in question are cognitive
and non-cognitive. Cognitive factors here
are related to students' academic abilities,
especially in materials related to
transformational geometry. Non-cognitive
factors are student anxiety when learning
mathematics and completing test questions
and students' confidence in their abilities.
From the discussion and conclusion
above, students' creative thinking in solving
the problem of transformation geometry is
influenced by learning models, teaching
materials, academic ability, and noncognitive factors. Thus, a learning model
and tools are needed to support students'
creative thinking. The author suggests that
in helping creative thinking, students need
to develop a learning model that involves
the provision of problems and, at the same
time, the discovery of solutions and the use
of learning modules as learning media.

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Asian Journal of Engineering, Social and Health
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Factors Influencing Creative Thinking In Problem-Solving

Copyright holder:
Agus Jaenudin (2023)
First publication right:
Asian Journal of Engineering, Social and Health (AJESH)
This article is licensed under the following:

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Volume 2, No. 3 March 2023