Copyright 2020 The Author(s). Published by vgtu press

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Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by VGTU Press
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (
http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/
), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author 
and source are credited.
ENHANCING CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS 
THROUGH CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING IN TEACHING 
MATHEMATICS
Madihah KHALID
 
1
, Supiah SAAD
1
, Siti Rafiah ABDUL HAMID
 
 
1
, Muhammad 
RIDHUAN ABDULLAH
 
1
, Hasniza IBRAHIM
 
1*
, Masitah SHAHRILL
 
 
2
1
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education,
International Islamic University Malaysia, P.O. Box 10, 50728 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education, Universiti Brunei Darussalam,
Jalan Tungku Link, BE1410, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Received 1 August 2019; accepted 18 March 2020
Abstract.
In recent years, calls to nurture and teach creativity from an early age in schools has intensi-
fied. Creativity is something regular in the teaching of arts subjects but is not a common feature in 
teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. However, what really matters, 
is how the subject is being taught. This research aimed to foster creativity through the teaching of 
mathematics via problem solving that challenges the solving of problems in a creative manner, which 
is defined as creative problem solving. This quasi-experimental study investigates changes in students 
learning of mathematics via creative problem solving. Altogether, 172 Form 1 students forming treat-
ment and comparison groups from four schools in Gombak District area, Malaysia were involved. A 
mixed qualitative and quantitative data were collected to investigate the effect of the 3 cycles of creative 
problem solving lessons implemented. Instruments used were Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, a 
mathematics problem solving test and creativity checklist. This paper will only present the quantitative 
data obtained. Results show statistically significant increases in scores for most categories of creativity 
and problem solving tests. This research brought together teachers and researchers in trialling creative 
problem solving to teach mathematics, to achieve the enhancement of students’ creative thinking and 
problem solving skills. This coincided with the introduction of 
Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah
with new emphasis to strengthen the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics 
education in general, where higher-order thinking reforms are emphasized.