Improving Early Childhood Creative Thinking Skills Through Nature-Based Loose Parts Media

Abstract

Today’s age, many children seem to be less interested in learning at school. This could be because they are
spending more time playing with gadgets at home instead of studying. As a result, their creativity and
critical thinking skills are not being optimally developed. To address this issue, researchers have tried to
improve children’s creative thinking abilities by using nature-based loose part media. They conducted
an action classroom research with 20 children to evaluate the impact of this approach on their creative
thinking skills. The researchers observed indicators such as the children’s curiosity, imagination, ability to
produce forms, and sense of responsibility. The results showed that using nature-based loose part media
can significantly enhance young children’s creative thinking abilities. In pre-cycle, 11 children showed
high achievement in creative thinking abilities, but this number increased to 15 children in cycle I and 19
children in cycle II. Therefore, it is crucial for educational institutions to use nature-based loose part media
during early childhood learning activities to promote children’s creativity and critical thinking skill