The Impact of AI-Enhanced Educational Drama on Enhancing Creative Thinking Skills in English Among 12th-Grade Students in the Wadi Ara Region: An Experimental Study
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Date
2025-10-20
Authors
Noran Suheil Mohammed Agbariyah
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Publisher
An-Najah National University, Nablus - Palestine.
Abstract
Abstract
The integration of educational drama with advanced digital tools—particularly artificial intelligence (AI)—has emerged as a promising approach to enhance learner engagement, creativity, and academic achievement. Educational drama provides a fertile ground for experiential learning, role-play, and meaning-making in authentic contexts. This study aimed to examine the impact of an AI-supported drama-based instructional unit on academic achievement in English among 12th-grade students in the Wadi Ara region. A mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative research within a quasi-experimental design, was applied. Data were collected using four tools, and two distinct non-probability sampling techniques were employed: convenience sampling for student participants (n=56, equally divided into control and intervention groups), and purposive sampling for selecting the English teacher who taught both groups. The study found that academic achievement was higher in the intervention group (mean = 92.43) compared to the control group (mean = 90.75), though this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.324). Correlation analysis indicated no significant relationship between creative IQ and academic achievement in both pre-test (p = 0.554) and post-test (p = 0.124). Additionally, no significant correlations were identified between the divergent traits of the EPoC and IQ, while significant positive correlations emerged between creative intelligence and both graphic convergent (p < 0.001) and verbal convergent (p < 0.001) traits. Neither divergent nor convergent traits were significantly related to post-test academic achievement (p > 0.05). Female gender was significantly associated with both creative IQ and academic achievement, with higher academic percentiles also linked to elevated creative IQ. Qualitative findings demonstrated students’ creative thinking through narrative reimagine, internal monologues, and podcast creation, alongside strong emotional expression during dramatizations. The teacher’s facilitative role was essential in fostering a safe, student-centered environment by introducing open-ended challenges and allowing students to take ownership of the learning process. In conclusion, although the intervention group exhibited higher academic achievement, the lack of statistically significant correlations between creative intelligence and academic performance underscores the influential roles of gender and teacher support in cultivating creativity and learning.
Keywords: Achievement, AI in education, Creative thinking, Educational drama.