Identification of the Problem

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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter discusses and elaborates the concepts of the variables with respect to this study, i.e. creative thinking ability in relation to writing skill. Besides, this chapter presents the relevant studies investigating creative thinking ability and writing skill. Moreover, it reveals the synthesized concepts elaborated in a conceptual framework leading to the research hypotheses.

A. The Concept of Creative Thinking Ability 1. Nature of Creativity

Creativity is believed important for people in dealing with matters encountered in daily life. A number of new inventions have been produced through creativity. However, before discussing more about the importance of creativity, this section tries to uncover the nature as well as definitions in the light of several experts. Adair points out that creativity refers to the ability associated with using mind and spirit that leads to things exist and have some use, beauty and significance. 1 From this notion, creativity is deemed as the craft as a result of employing mind and spirit through which something unique and new appears. Also, through creativity something can be made to be useful, and have aesthetics, and significance. In daily life, there are numerous discoveries as a result of creativity, and one of the instances is mobile phones that continuously develop. In terms of usefulness and significance, the mobile phones provide a number of benefits, for instance, making information be easily accessed because each mobile phone now is equipped with the internet access; in addition, in terms of aesthetics, the recent mobile phones have several unique and nice forms, such as a slim form and even in the form of watch. Similarly, Carter and Russel asserts, “Creativity refers to mental process that lead to solutions, ideas, concepts, artistic expression, theories or products that 1 John Adair, The Art of Creative Thinking: How to Be Innovative and Develop Great Ideas, London: Kogan Page, 2007, p. 8. are unique and novel.” 2 From Carter and Russel’s definition above, creativity is important in life because there are a number of benefits that can be obtained through the implementation of creativity, that is, novel and unique things comprising solutions, ideas, concepts, artistic expression, theories or products. For instance, as creativity is employed by English teachers in classroom, the teachers may have a new insight related to a new way that facilitates the learning and teaching process e.g. attractive games as the learning apparatus. In addition, Monahan reveals that creativity has an association with problem solving, and a problem is, therefore, the essential part of creative achievement. 3 Based on Monahan’s view above, it can be considered that a problem is the thing that can trigger people to be creative. It is because as they encounter a problem, their mind works and prods to solve the problem. For instance, as people lose their only job or being fired by their company in which they work for, they will work hard to find a way to earn money. In this case, to survive in life, they may open their own business as entrepreneurs e.g. cookies sellers. The act to solve the financial problem according to the instance above can be considered as an endeavor which constitutes the manifestation of creativity. Likewise, Lau points out that creativity is not only associated with scientific discoveries or works of art, and therefore it relates to scientists and artists, but the terms creativity also refers to the faculty that is needed to solve problems encountered in workplace or daily life; besides, he also states that better results of certain tasks can be obtained if creativity is employed. 4 To sum up, creativity can be considered as the faculty or the ability associated with using mind and spirit that can trigger or prod people to work better in solving problems encountered in daily life. The work of creativity is 2 Philip Carter and Ken Rusell, More Psychometric Testing: 1000 New Ways to Assess Your Personality, Creativity, Intelligence, and Lateral Thinking, Chicester: John Wiley Sons, 2003, p. 147. 3 Tom Monahan, The Do-It-Yourself Lobotomy: Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking, New York: John Wiley Sons, 2002, p. 49. 4 Joe Y. F. Lau, An Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity: Think More, Think Better, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, 2011, p. 215.