(1941) DESIGNING A 'WONDERFUL' VIRTUAL WORLD IN SECOND LIFE FOR ENHANCING CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS

摘要

Teachers' Professional Development (TPD) training programs should engage teachers by providingstimulating authentic experiences. To this direction, educational games, simulations and 3D virtualworlds can be seen as engaging realistic and immersive spaces with major advantages. Towards this,a virtual TPD training program based on the 3D world of Second Life (SL) was designed andimplemented for in-service teachers. The aim is to deliver a virtual learning environment so as toengage teachers in activities for developing a global identity, being open and flexible to other culturesand interacting in multicultural contexts. The proposed TPD training program is based on thetheoretical approach of Creative Problem Solving and de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats' method. On theprogram, participants are engaged in interactive activities, such as discussion and role playing basedon the initiative 'Learning to Live Together' of Arigatou International institution which highlights thevalue of respect, peace and the sense of global community. We conducted a quasi-experimentalresearch with using a pre/post-test and authentic assessment appraising the participants' reactions, inorder to examine creative problem solving skills. The findings revealed that trainees after thecompletion of the TPD training program tend to improve their creative problem solving skills.