Exploring Children’s Online Summer Camp Adventures through Creativity and Problem Solving

Abstract

Summer camps can help children continue to learn beyond school, build knowledge, keep their learning skills sharp, and help them prepare for the following school year. This paper presents participants’, facilitators’, and researchers’ experiences in a “Problem Solvers Camp” held in the Maker Lab at an Ontario University. A total of 12 junior students participated in a one-week summer camp, during which the participants developed plausible solutions for mathematical and instant problems using their creativity while learning some mathematical concepts. The creative learning spiral (CLS) model was adopted while designing the learning activities. Throughout the camp, children had the opportunity to work with virtual tech tools to design, create, and play to complete their challenges. Afterward, they shared their work for feedback and generated new ideas to promote their creative learning. The data were collected through observations, participants’ work, and their portfolios to highlight the campers’ experiences throughout the camp. On the last day of the camp, the researchers also ran focus group interviews. Data analysis showed that CLS might offer engaging environments that enhance children’s creative and reflective thinking skills to solve real-life problems. This study enabled children to engage in all stages of the CLS during problem solving, encouraging the exchange of ideas and opinions. The implementation of the CLS model also has the potential to inspire creativity and enhance learners’ fluency and elaboration skills, especially when complemented by technological or coding tools.