An Inquiry Concerning the Characterıstics of the Creative Person

Abstract

This study was conducted with the participation of 20 pre-service science teachers. The study aims to examine pre-service science teachers’ views on the characteristics of the creative person. The data collected was analyzed by coding the answers. It was found that pre-service teachers mostly identified the following characteristics as the characteristics of a creative person: ‘thinks/interprets differently/originally’, ‘curious’, ‘enjoys research’, ‘has imagination’, ‘observant’, ‘self-confident’, ‘questions/enjoys questioning’, ‘sociable, not shy’, ‘open to new ideas’, ‘knowledgeable’, ‘farsighted’, ‘enjoys exploration’, ‘patient’, ‘enjoys learning’, ‘open to criticism’, and ‘talented’. These descriptions indicate that the creative person is considered to have a very wide and varied range of characteristics. This does not mean, however, that a creative person needs to have all of these characteristics at once.

Keywords: creative personality characteristics, creativity, science education