Psychology, 2010, 1, 65-79
doi:10.4236/psych.2010.12010 Published Online June 2010 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/psych)
1
Activation of Community Television and its
Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
Michal Aflalo, Baruch Offir
School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Received April 22nd, 2010; revised May 18th, 2010; accepted May 20th, 2010.
ABSTRACT
The goal of the research was to examine whether a relation exists between students’ experience in community television
and changes in their creative thinking ability. Community television is a tool that enables the expression of wishes,
opinions, ideas, though ts, experiences and skills via co mmun ity television broad casts. Learning in commun ity television
affords experien ce with differen t typ es of activities. Each role requ ires different skills and characteristics. In the present
research we used job analysis to characterize the different experiences within the framework of community television.
Job analysis is a technique for presen ting detailed info rmation on activitie s carried out within the fram ework of the job.
The job analysis used in this resear ch is based on a list of abilities, traits, skills and fields of knowledge from which the
person suitable for the role should be chosen. The influence of students’ experience in community television on their
creative thinking level was examined, as well as whether different experiences in community television have a different
effect on the students’ creative thinking. The research popula tion included 157 subjects who underwent a set of tests for
evaluating their creative tendency (curiosity, originality, and general creativity score). All subjects experienced the
production of a movie, while learning the secrets of television production and experiencing production roles according
to their personal choice (director, editor, photographer, actor). The choice of experience was made according to each
student’s personal choice, with the aim of enabling the expression via multiple intelligences. Th e tendency to creativity
was measured using a tendency to creativity questionnaire [1]. After the learning and the process of producing the
movie, the subjects took the same set of tests in order to examine the change tha t took place fo llo wing this process. They
were also interviewed in order to discover their opinions and feelings regarding the process they underwent. Analysis
of the tests and the interviews indicates tha t students who experienced community television produ ction roles improved
their creative tendency level in all experience roles: director, editor, photograph er and actor. An open experien ce sys-
tem that integrates different levels of experience and active learning, autonomous learning and affords expression for
multiple experiences with the aim of creating a common project in which all contribute their share towards the final
product can develop the tendency for creativity among students.
Keywords: Job Analysis, Creative Thinking, Community Television, Learning by Doing
1. Theoretical Background
We have been researching different variables that may
help implement change in learning systems for over
thirty years [2,3]. The present research examined the
influence of the process of “learning by doing” on stu-
dents’ creative thinking ability.
“Creative” means bringing something into being that
did not exist previously, the ability to create a new,
original, unexpected and different creation [4-7]. Crea-
tivity is a dynamic process. It is ongoing and developing.
Creative processes are based on the ability to create new
connections while using new schemes of thinking, new
ideas and new conclusions via experiences that until that
time were not connected to each other. Creativity is a
trait that enables us to deviate from the familiar bounda-
ries, and is perceived as a guarantee for flexibility of
thought expressed in affording original solutions and
raising new ideas [7,8]. Creativity is a manipulative ac-
tion of converting the existing, reshaping it, and creating
new connections in order to solve a problem. It is actu-
ally a kind of unconventional use of existing knowledge,
degradation of existing patterns and unexpected use of
their components to create new patterns.
Creative thinking is a thinking pattern that tends to
lead to creative results, i.e. original, continuous and con-
gruous results according to the criteria of a particular
field. Creative thinking enables us to activate the trait of

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
66
creativity in a systematic manner. It is a conscious and
deliberate system that refers to all types of information
and its sources, while constantly searching for alterna-
tives. Creative thinking actually refers to the human in-
tellect. Creativity is a kind of intelligence. The need for
creativity is found in places where a new idea is needed,
when there is a problem, crisis or conflict, when other
approaches have failed and where a new idea may create
an opportunity that can afford an advantage or benefit.
Any occasion that necessitates thinking, needs informa-
tion, analysis and creativity. Only teaching that includes
active thinking will develop independence and creativity
in the students that will lead them to effective learning.
The classroom should turn into an environment in which
students can develop “high order thinking,” i.e. active
participation in collecting, expanding, reconstructing,
interpreting, evaluating, transferring and reaching con-
clusions. Since experiencing roles in community televi-
sion is a kind of active learning, we assume that such an
experience will develop a degree of creativity among the
students.
Creativity is also courage, since anything innovative
and unknown is also not sure and is not compatible with
past experiences. Facing a new insight requires daring.
Creative thinking is a way of life, a lifestyle that prevents
life’s depletion of meaning. Research differentiates be-
tween a creative personality characterized by abilities
and a creative personality characterized by traits. A crea-
tive personality characterized by abilities was defined by
Guilford [9] and Lowenfeld [10]. They defined creative
thinking as branched thinking characterized by intellec-
tual abilities. Guilford defined creativity by researching
the structure of the intellect. In his opinion, the abilities
that characterize creative thinking, which can be meas-
ured, are fluency abilities (amount of responses), flexi-
bility abilities (diversity of the types of responses),
originality abilities (uniqueness of the responses), sensi-
tivity abilities (ability to recognize problems), processing
abilities (ability to process data), and redefinition abili-
ties (ability to change data and reformulate them).
Lowenfeld also differentiated between factors and abili-
ties. The factors that comprise the intellect are sensitivity,
fluency, flexibility and originality and the abilities are
redefinition, analysis, synthesis and organization.
Torrance [11-13] viewed creativity as a unique cogni-
tive ability. Creative people use the same cognitive proc-
esses as others, but in an efficient and flexible manner
while having ambitious and sometimes even dangerous
goals. Gardner [14] presented creative people as devoted
to their work and enthusiastic, exhibiting the need to do
something new and with a strong commitment to their
final goals and targets.
The traits that characterize the creative personality are
explained as two traits that comprise a fundamental con-
dition for this personality: originality and openness to the
environment. Nilsen [15] characterized creative people as
open, sensitive, curious, playful and with a sense of hu-
mor. Smith [16] emphasized additional traits that charac-
terize the creative personality: willingness to take risks,
willingness to fail and to learn, internal motivation, sat-
isfaction from work. Many studies report that creative
people are characterized by openness to new experiences,
growth and development [17-21]. Creative thinking is a
conscious ability that helps in the development of new
unconventional ideas and in the development of several
possibilities for solving a problem. The literature lists six
principles for creative thinking:
1) Creative thinking necessitates esthetic and prac-
tical standards to the same extent. Creative people
strive towards originality, and towards something fun-
damental and powerful with a broad range of influence
[22,23].
2) Creative thinking is dependent on focusing on
the goal and on the results to the same extent. Creative
people examine goals and alternative approaches at an
early stage of the thinking effort, evaluate them critically,
understand the nature of the problem and the standards
necessary for solving it, are willing to change their ap-
proach and later redefine the problem according to need
[24,25].
3) Creative thinking is dependent on mobility more
than on fluency. Creative people can turn problems into
more abstract or more tangible, into more general or
more unique.
4) Creative thinking is dependent on work at the
edge of the thinker’s ability more than at its center.
Creative people have high standards. They accept condi-
tions of confusion, uncertainty and high risk as part of
the creative process, and learn to perceive failure as
normal, interesting and challenging.
5) Creative thinking is dependent on objectivity
just as it is dependent on subjectivity. Creative people
consider different viewpoints. They reject occupation
with final products or intermediary products and return to
them at a late stage in order to evaluate them from a
greater distance [23].
6) Creative thinking is dependent on internal mo-
tivation more than on external motivation. Creative
people feel that they choose what to do and how to do it.
They evaluate the task they were obligated to perform as
an answer by itself, and not as a means for achieving an
end, and enjoy the activity, its background and its context
[26].
The more the person’s thinking is guided by these six
principles, the more creative it is. We assumed that ex-
periencing community television production roles de-
mands affording several solutions to a problem, with
development of new, original and unconventional ideas
while realizing principles of creative thinking. Five
characteristic dimensions of creative thinking that touch
upon the characteristics of the examined role holders are:
 Meta-cognition: People thinking and learning on

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level 67
their own. The students must think about their mo-
ves all the time and plan how to advance in light of
the results of the action and learning. For example,
they must observe the products of the filming in
order to decide how the edit. Thinking about the
learning is carried out during the entire production
process.
 Critical thinking and creative thinking: Critical th-
inking directed towards creating evaluations of things,
and action processes and creative thinking directed
towards the creation of creative results. The students
must think in terms of the viewers of the movie and
create evaluations and changes accordingly along
the entire process.
 Thinking processes: The thinking processes are
expressed in the design of concepts and principles, in
understanding, problem solving, making decisions,
research, composing and verbal dialogue. The pro-
duction process requires the transmission of a mes-
sage via the movie and therefore requires thinking
processes.
 Central thinking abilities: A certain category of ab-
ilities has a clear connection to creative thinking,
formulation of questions, conclusion and reconstruc-
tion. Creating a movie, as mentioned, is a way of
asking a question and obtaining an answer. Produc-
tion of a movie requires formulation of questions,
conclusions and reconstruction.
 Relations between fields of knowledge and think-
ing: A creative personality in one field tends to be
creative in other fields as well.
Four levels of creative thinking can be discerned:
1) When the students begin to answer a question, but
do not know what follows and cannot continue with the
thinking process.
2) When the students give an evasive answer that did
not answer the question directly, but is related to it.
3) When the students try to think and create an answer,
which is correct or incorrect.
4) When the students refer to the question or the prob-
lem with a detailed answer, accompanied by tangible
examples and with reference to their life experience [27].
The present research proposes a model for cultivating
the thinking abilities and traits that will promote creativ-
ity by means of experiencing the fulfillment of roles in
community television.
1.1 Developing the Tendency to Creativity
All people are creative, although the degree of creativity
varies from one person to another. If we supply practice
and training, organizational structures and systematic
techniques, we can raise the general level of the creative
ability. Thus, experience can develop the tendency to
creativity. Development of creativity does not take place
uniformly. We usually begin our lives as very creative,
but at age eight or nine the extent of creativity decreases
because of thinking and behavior habits. Guilford [28]
indicated an arrest of the development of creativity in the
late years of adolescence and its reawakening in the early
thirties, years during which the quality of creativity
reaches its peak.
Creative thinking can be taught by cultivating patterns
of thinking. A deliberate change in creative thinking is
possible, but requires a great deal of motivation, energy
and the ability to recognize new forms of thinking, feel-
ing and behavior. We claim that experience with com-
munity television will develop a certain creative ten-
dency because it is a different pattern of thinking and
behavior. Researches indicate an improvement in crea-
tivity by training and the development of creative think-
ing abilities via different teaching methodologies [29].
Experience in community television is, as mentioned, a
combination of several teaching methodologies. Numer-
ous approaches to teaching creativity emphasize a diver-
sity of thinking patterns that help break down the struc-
tured system of ideas [30-33]. Interdisciplinary teaching
serves as a strategy and a tool by the teacher to develop
the tendency to creativity in the student. Education to-
wards creativity should expose the students to the taste
and texture of the creative inquiry and should strive to
cause the students to become enchanted with it. We as-
sume that an environment such as community television
will enable creative inquiry and will lead to the devel-
opment of a tendency to creativity.
The television production process includes many roles
(producer, director, editor, photographer, actor, investi-
gator, light or sound person). The present research fo-
cused on only four roles (director, editor, photographer,
actor). These roles were prominent in the preliminary
questionnaire on community television production, as
obtained from the report of 45 community television co-
ordinators. The director, photographer, editor and actor
comprise an integral part of the television production
process. They work in a team and all contribute their
professional part to the production of the movie. Each of
the students experienced one of these roles during the
production process.
The directors direct the movie, position the movie, and
give instructions to the other role holders. The directors’
main job is to turn the words into pictures, turn the script
into a visual picture that will reflect what is written in it
and illustrate the text. The directors are supposed to see
the final product in their mind’s eye.
The photographers, who photograph what they choose,
seemingly comprise an “external space” as opposed to
the inner world. This space contains unique emotional
elements from their inner world, which are created as a
response to the circumstances of their lives. Photography
itself may have a therapeutic effect and may serve as a
spring-board for the youths towards a new type of coping.
Photography is a type of observation, a type of process-

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
68
ing of stimuli which originate in reality, affording an
interpretation to them that takes place in the brain. The
brain organizes the data which it receives in a subjective
manner that is dependent on the emotional, personal and
cultural context, and is based on the collection of infor-
mation, learning the components of the reality and con-
structing fixed patterns that identify them as a result of
experiencing them in different situations. Photography
enables the photographers to observe and arrange the
data, the pictures or reality in a way they choose and thus
to create the emotional or personal context of their choice.
Dealing in photography as an artistic means enables the
students to afford an authentic expression to their identity
and express their opinions and approaches towards many
issues, while creating order and organization within their
inner world [34]. Personality factors such as tendency to
creativity, emotional intensity and motivation, will con-
tribute to the quality of the photographs because of the
uniqueness and sensitivity that will be added to the final
picture, which will turn it from a “picture” into a “crea-
tion”.
The editors are judged by the ability to realize the di-
rector’s desires during the editing process and by the
ability to observe the “materials” (the raw photographs),
by an objective observation and by advising the director
how to improve and change things pertaining to the edit-
ing of the movie, in order to improve the “final product.”
Editing movies is a creative field, which necessitates
wisdom and feeling. Editing is to know how to activate
the viewer, to surprise, shock, excite or frighten. The
editors actually cut in order to fuse, fuse in order to cut,
cut in order to draw near. What was taken apart is re-
composed, will be organized in a special order and at a
special rate, with a special sound track. The editors create
meaning by changing the order of things. Thus, the edi-
tors can influence the style of the movie. The role of the
editors is to help the directors exhaust the movie’s poten-
tial, transmit the story, saying or plot in their unique style.
The editors edit by means of an editing system that en-
ables control over the time, the picture and the esthetics
of the movie. Personality variables such as tendency to
creativity, emotional intensity and motivation will influ-
ence the editors’ imprint on the quality of the final edit-
ing.
The actors must present the text visually, and are sup-
posed to “enter the figure” and personify scenes that will
appear real to the viewers. The actors perform a type of
dramatic act. In the dramatic act the students take on a
role and become someone else. They imitate that person
in action and in speech, using real or imaginary objects.
The students’ speech during acting is imitative speech, or
declarations that serve as an alternative to objects, ac-
tions or situations. Experiencing dramatic acting enables
the students to investigate the social roles as preparation
for their participation in the life of the family and the
community, while developing the ability to view the
world through different eyes. The actors improve their
acting ability as they accumulate experience. When par-
ticipating in different acting roles, their ability to react
increases. When acting together with other actors, they
become acquainted with the different interpretations
which different actors attribute to the same role, and
when they act out this role with the same actors in dif-
ferent cases, each acting episode changes shape and be-
comes something new.
The literature indicates that the goals of dramatic act-
ing include emotional and physical unity, development of
social skills and effective communication, encourage-
ment of creativity, imagination and intuition, and proc-
essing of emotional contents. Courtney [35] claimed that
drama enables all students to cultivate their talents in
collaboration with the environment and with the group.
Dealing in drama as a spontaneous creative activity re-
moves obstacles, reduces anxieties, increases motivation
and perfects the expressive ability. All types of students
can be offered a creative dramatic activity for cultivating
their natural talents and for affording reinforcements or
solutions for their virtues or limitations.
Students who experience community television as ac-
tors act a kind of socio-dramatic acting. They take on a
role, pretend to be someone else, share the situation with
friends and develop social skills via this process. Person-
ality variables such as tendency to creativity and emo-
tional intensity will influence the actors’ acting and their
ability to persuade the audience of the credibility of their
acting.
2. Research Method
The goal of the research was to examine the relation be-
tween students’ experience in community television and
their creative thinking level. Does a relation exist be-
tween the actual experience and the development of the
students’ creative thinking ability? What is the difference
between the level of creative ability among students who
experienced and students who did not experience com-
munity television production processes (control group)?
Two research methods were used in order to achieve
the research goals. In the first part of the research we
collected information from the students using quantita-
tive instruments, because of the experience in using these
instruments and the possibility of processing them and
because of the strength of quantitative research in reach-
ing conclusions and generalization from information that
is based on a large sample of the population. In the sec-
ond part of the research, information was collected using
the qualitative research method, with the aim of collect-
ing information from the subjects and discovering angles
and processes that are not obvious. The qualitative in-
strument in the present study was the focused guided
interview, which affords freedom to the interviewer and
the interviewee, and enables achievement of a broader

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level 69
picture of the researched reality. The qualitative research
method had several goals:
1) To supplement and deepen the understanding of ph-
nomena which we identified using the quantitative data
of the research.
2) To consolidate and emphasize the psychological ch-
aracteristics of the role holders, also from the subjects’
point of view.
3) To describe behaviors and opinions not expressed in
the quantitative research.
Use of the two research methods (quantitative and
qualitative) in one research is customary in the research
literature and is recommended in studies that examine
learning environments, due to the limitation of the quan-
titative research [36,37]. The qualitative research, via the
interview, complements and expands the results of the
quantitative research. Combined use of both methodolo-
gies is also recommended by researchers [38] in order to
strengthen the internal and external validity.
2.1 Sample
The sample included 157 subjects, boys and girls, youths,
from ten settlements with a medium-high socioeconomic
status. The settlements were sampled randomly from all
the settlements in Israel where there are active groups of
community television. These are peripheral settlements,
since more community television groups are active in
them. The control group was also sampled randomly,
from the same districts and from settlements with the
same socioeconomic status. The groups are similar in
terms of their cultural, economic and social background.
119 students experienced community television produc-
tion processes and 38 comprised the control group, i.e.
students who did not experience the television production
processes.
The subjects: The subjects are boys and girls aged
12-16 who were chosen randomly to be part of a group
that experienced community television production. The
groups were mixed in terms of the ages (12-16). In order
to obtain valuable reciprocal actions between the students,
prominence of categorizations which dictate separation
(boys-girls, age groups, homeroom class) must be abol-
ished. Mixed-age groups can advance the development of
all their members, young and older alike. The youths
learn that they can be sources of information and help for
their peers. The more they experience situations of liter-
acy in the social context, the more complex, deliberate,
planned and continuous is the level of their activity, which
ends in a solution [39]. Multi-age learning helps the self-
adjustment [40].
2.2 The Research Instruments
The following instruments were employed for the present
research: job analysis according to the competency-based
approach and a questionnaire for the tendency to creativ-
ity [1].
2.2.1 Job Analysis
Job analysis is a technique for presenting detailed infor-
mation on the activities carried out within the framework
of each role and for determining the data required of each
worker in order to perform these actions at a satisfactory
level. A job is the entirety of the tasks directed towards
the achievement of a particular target. The goal of this
technique is to collect data and create quality information
on the demands of the role. It was developed in order to
supply human resources managers with a systematic and
tested tool that can help in the creation of quality infor-
mation on the demands of the role as the basis for the
development of the role holders. Job analysis:
 Helps the manager and the worker define obliga-
tions and expected results from the role holder and
the tasks derived from them.
 Comprises a document that helps direct the workers
in their work.
 Defines the importance and the time frame required
for the job.
 Supplies the candidates for the job with realistic in-
formation on the work (thus reducing the exchange
rate).
 Comprises an instrument for examining the need for
the role, its authorities and position in the organiza-
tion.
 Supplies quality information for making skilled de-
cisions.
 Comprises the basis for creating advancement tr-
acts.
There exist several techniques for performing job
analysis:
The competency-based approach (CB): Analyses based
on a list of the abilities, traits, skills and fields of knowl-
edge, from which the relevant person for the role should
be chosen. CB techniques include: 1) the occupation-
mapping model [41] that maps the motivating potential
embodied in the role (the abilities that the role requires),
the identity of the role, the meaning of the role, the status
of the role, the autonomy of the role and the extent of
feedback in the role; 2) job analysis based on occupa-
tional reward which is based on a complex instrument
composed of 21 measures of occupational reward, i.e. the
extent to which the occupation in the role meets the need
for achievement, the extent of authority, creativity and
independence, etc.
The behavior-based approach (BB): Analyses based on
a list of behaviors or processes, from which the relevant
behaviors for the role should be chosen.
The performance-based approach (PB): Analyses based
on a list of outputs and targets required for achieving the
goals and aims of the organization, from which the rele-
vant outputs for the role should be chosen.

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
70
BB and CB techniques include: 1) qualitative job analy-
sis, description of the work as tasks and sub-tasks, fea-
tures of the work and the requirements of the occupation
in terms of traits and abilities (verbal description); 2)
functional job analysis, description of the work as tasks
and sub-tasks with reference to people, data and objects;
3) job analysis based on a structured questionnaire that
presents collection and analysis of frequent activities and
their grouping into six groups with a common denomi-
nator: information, thinking, achieving outputs, interper-
sonal activities, environment and different aspects per-
taining to the job. The questionnaire contains 182 state-
ments that describe the job in these six measures.
Technique that combines all three approaches (PB +
CB + BB): This technique is based on the perception of
improvement in performance. The role is perceived as an
organizational sub-system. The role therefore has a des-
tination, purpose, organizational environment, superior, sup-
pliers, subordinates, outputs, targets, skills and threshold
conditions.
In the present research we used the competency-based
approach to job analysis. This is an analysis based on a
list of abilities, traits, skills and fields of knowledge,
from which the relevant person for the role should be
chosen, and is based on Hackman and Oldham [41]. This
approach maps the abilities, identity and meaning re-
quired by the role.
2.2.2 Examination of the Tendency to Creativity
Using the Rookey [1] Questionnaire
The creative tendency test is a questionnaire for examin-
ing creative tendencies [1]. The questionnaire tests the
traits: creative behavior, ability, self-direction, behavior
based on values, flexible thinking, original thinking, de-
veloped and branched thinking, willingness to take risks,
sense of comfort in complex situations, curiosity and flu-
ency of thought. The questionnaire contains 184 statements,
where 23 are formulated such that a positive answer
means a creative approach and 161 are formulated such
that a negative answer means a creative approach. We
therefore performed inversion of the scores such that a
high score would express creativity and a low score would
express lack of creativity.
The questionnaire is divided into two subquestionnaires,
a “curiosity” questionnaire and an “originality” question-
naire. The “curiosity” questionnaire contains statements
that refer to the desire to know, to learn new things and
to be open to others’ experiences. The “originality” ques-
tionnaire contains statements that refer to original think-
ing, flexible and branched thinking, thinking fluency and
desire to remember new things.
2.2.3 Scoring
The subjects were asked to indicate the description of the
answer that best describes them on a scale of 1 to 5, from
“not true at all” to “very true.” Higher values indicate
higher creativity. The reliability of the questionnaire was
α = 0.81. Three measures were created for each subject,
two which express curiosity and originality and one gen-
eral measure. The measures of curiosity and originality
were calculated as the means of the answers to the items
of the creative tendency, respectively. The general meas-
ure for tendency to creativity was calculated as the mean
of the answers to all items of the questionnaire. The reli-
ability of the measures was tested as internal consistency
according to Cronbach’s alpha and was found to be
higher than 0.70 for all measures.
2.2.4 Interview
A qualitative research instrument was used to understand
the conditions under which the behaviors we observed
during the experience in community television produc-
tion occurred, what the subjects felt and the background
that led to these behaviors. The interviews were intended
to find the meaning which the subjects attributed to
things, what they thought about the research topic, what
they believe in, what they prefer and what in their opin-
ion influenced the process. By exposing the students’
viewpoints we succeeded in understanding internal proc-
esses that were not exposed through the questionnaires.
We were also able to cross between the students’ answers
in the interviews and their answers on the questionnaires
by the questions: “What do you think developed in you?”
and “What do you think caused the improvement?” Sev-
enty randomly-chosen students were interviewed. How-
ever, due to incompatibility with the questionnaires
(some interviewees did not participate in the first or sec-
ond part of the research), only 61 interviews were used.
The interviews were performed according to the rules
of an open ethnographic interview [42]. These are inter-
views based on friendly, harmonic and informal relations
and enable free flow of information. The interviews were
recorded in order to make it easier for the interviewer to
maintain eye contact with the interviewee and to enable a
pleasant and comfortable atmosphere. The interviews
were later transcribed and encoded. They were con-
structed as a guided and focused interview whose aim
was to understand what variables changed in the students
and how they felt with this, according to their role in the
production. We also asked what variables they thought
did not change and why. The questions in the interview
were divided as detailed in Table 1.
The interview was held in a friendly informal manner
(in order to increase the interviewee’s trust in the inter-
viewer). The interviewers had an outline of questions,
but their goal was to encourage the interviewees to tell
their experiences from the process, describe events and
express opinions.
2.2.5 Anal ysis of the Intervi ew
The interviews were analyzed using content analysis [43,

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level 71
Table 1. Description of the types of que stions aske d in the interview
Type of questions according to Spradley [42] Description of type of question Questions asked in the research
Far-reaching question Description of a particular task that the inter-
viewee performs
A. What was your role in the production?
B. What in your opinion did the process you under-
went contribute?
C. What do you feel developed in you?
Local question Question as a result of the information in the
far-reaching question
A. What in this course caused this development?
B. Did this change something in your nature?
Example question The interviewer asks for examples for clarify-
ing the descriptions A. In what do you think you improved the most?
Experience question
The interviewees are asked to describe an
experience they underwent and to contribute
from their personal experience
A. What changes do you feel in your ability?
B. How do you think this can be improved even
more?
44], which is based on the analysis of thematic units [45]
that are defined by the contents told in them. The content
analysis process includes a search for components that
are repeated in the collected data. These components are
defined as categories for analysis.
We searched for prominent and interesting compo-
nents that were repeated at high frequency. The students’
sayings were encoded and analyzed according to Strauss
and Corbin [46], and categories that describe their say-
ings were created. These components were defined as
categories for analysis. The answers to the interviews
were given to ten referees from the field of education
who were asked to match between the students’ answers
and the chosen categories in order to verify the reliability
of the categories in each question. Changes were made in
the matching between the answers and the categories
according to the referees’ answers.
2.2.6 Data Analysis
Quantitative data analysis was performed according to
the frequency of the appearance, i.e. the number of ap-
pearances of each category in the analysis units, and the
frequency of the appearance of all the categories.
2.2.7 Reliability and Validity
Reliability deals in the possibility of replicating scientific
findings [38]. External reliability refers to the repetition
of the research by another researcher and internal reli-
ability refers to the extent to which another research and
the same instruments and methods can yield identical
results. Reliability in a qualitative research is not com-
patible with reliability in a quantitative research, and is
based on the extent of being able to rely on the collected
data. The reliability of the qualitative part of the research
was maintained by the following:
1) Choosing informants: Informants are the studied
population. The students who participated in the experi-
ence process are most suitable for supplying the qualita-
tive information on the process they underwent through
their experience in community television [47,48].
2) Audit trail: A detailed recording of all the details
related to the research in general and the ways of col-
lecting the information and the data analysis process was
conducted in order to enable other researchers to recon-
struct the details of the research.
3) Mechanical reporting of the data: The interviews
were recorded on a tape recorder, which strengthens the
reliability of the results [38].
Validity refers to the verity of the scientific explana-
tions for a social situation, phenomenon or curriculum.
Internal validity refers to the correspondence between the
results and the subjects’ reality. The presence of the re-
searchers during the interview and use of documentation
methods such as a tape recorder are among the weak-
nesses of the internal validity. However, this is also the
source for the strength of the method. The interviews
were held in the students’ natural location in a manner
that reflects their life reality. The research validity
stemmed from the manner of collecting the information:
1) Internal validity: Use of several research instru-
ments that enable crossing and verification of the data
[43,44,48]. The data obtained in the interview were
compared with the quantitative data in order to verify the
validity of the findings.
2) Content validity, expert referees: The interviews
were given to referees from the field of education and
after receiving an explanation on the essence of the re-
search they matched between the students’ answers and
the chosen categories. Changes were made in the choice
of categories, according to the referees’ answers.
Qualitative research necessitates use of ethics to pro-
tect the privacy of the subjects, exhibit sensitivity to-
wards them and construct the researcher’s credibility
[49,50]. In the present research the encounter between
the students and the work with them was based on per-
sonal relations between the researcher and the subject
and the closeness between them. The following steps
were taken to preserve the rules of ethics in the research:
1) The subjects knew that the research examines the
learning process via community television and expressed
their consent to participate.
2) The subjects used fictitious names in all question-
naires and interviews and remained anonymous. They
were not exposed with their full na- mes or any other detail
that could indicate their identity.

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
72
2.3 The Research Procedure
The research was divided into two parts:
Part A
Job analysis was performed for role holders in com-
munity television in order to locate the psychological
variables that characterize each experience.
1) Mapping the experiences in community television
(role holders) by analyzing roles (questionnaires and in-
terviews).
2) Defining the different levels of experience in com-
munity television according to role holders (director,
editor, photographer, actor) based on analysis of the roles
after their performance.
Part B
1) Pre-test.
2) Intervention in learning via students’ experience in
community television at a scope of 90 hours.
3) Production of a product (report) by the students af-
ter their experience in community television.
4) Post-test.
5) Holding interviews for confirmation of the quantita-
tive research.
Analysis of the roles was divided into several stages:
A. Survey; B. Interview; C. Questionnaire; D. Analysis
of the questionnaire; E. Questionnaire for creating rank-
ing between the experiences:
1) Survey: Surveys were administered to about 45
community television coordinators in which they were
asked: what are the four most significant roles in com-
munity television in your settlement? The results of the
surveys indicated that the most significant or the most
prominent roles are: directors, actors, editors and pho-
tographers.
2) Interview: Fifty role holders (professionals) from
the field of television (12 directors, 15 actors, 10 editors
and 13 photographers) were interviewed and were asked
in free form, what personal abilities are required for suc-
cess in their role. The interviews were held according to
the rules of the open ethnographic interview [42]. Such
interviews are based on friendly, harmonious and infor-
mal relations and enable free flow of information. A long
list of personal abilities necessary for success in the role
was then prepared.
3) Questionnaire: A questionnaire was administered
for creating a ranking between the experiences. After we
had the four roles (experiences) that were defined as
most significant and prominent, a questionnaire was ad-
ministered to the same 45 community television coordi-
nators, in which they were asked to rank the experiences
and indicate which role requires more creativity and
which requires less creativity.
The next stage included the intervention program un-
derwent by the subjects and testing their level of creativ-
ity before and after the program. This stage was also di-
vided into several parts: A. Pre-test; B. Learning the
television production processes; C. Experience in pro-
duction roles; D. Producing a movie; E. Post-test; F.
Holding interviews. 150 subjects comprised the research
group and 50 students comprised the control group. They
were all administered the tendency to creativity ques-
tionnaire [1].
We did not ask the students to indicate their name, so
that they would feel free to report their true feelings,
since this is a very personal questionnaire, and we were
afraid they would not report their true feelings but rather
what they think is expected of them. We therefore asked
them to identify themselves by a fictitious name. We also
asked unimportant details such as the number of brothers
and sisters and the shoe size so that we could match be-
tween the pre and post-test.
Analysis of variance of the questionnaires indicated no
significant differences between the groups, and a normal
distribution. It may be assumed that the groups are ho-
mogenous and that the subjects began at a similar starting
point.
Learning the television production processes lasted for
eight months. Before beginning the studies, the students
were told that the goal of the learning is to experience
processes of television production and that at the end of
the studies they would have to produce their own work, a
movie common to the entire production team that will
include a director, photographer, actor and editor. The
students experienced 24 2-hour meetings during these
eight months, i.e. a total of 60 hours. At the end of the
lessons they received tasks whose goal was to experience
the diversity of issues and roles that were studied.
Researches indicate that significant learning takes
place via methods that develop activity integrated with
learning tasks, stimulating learning that integrates illus-
trations, practicing the content of learning and educa-
tional experiences that encourage in-depth learning
[51-54]. The students experienced a diversity of roles
from the field of production in order to produce the final
product, a movie.
In the first stage they had to choose a role. The princi-
ple of personal choice enables the adolescents to choose
the field in which they want to deal, the type of activity
and the diversity of activities. The rationale behind the
choice is the assumption that free choice promotes the
creation of real motivation and can strengthen the
youths’ decision making process and their taking respon-
sibility for their choice. Since the choice of the role is
influenced by the personal ability, professional and per-
sonal tendency and goals and values, the principle of free
choice enabled all students to choose their role and field
of activity according to their ability, tendency, personal-
ity and goals. The students chose the role they would
experience (director, editor, photographer, actor) and the

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level 73
experience began. The experience took place between the
lessons, in tasks they received.
Production of the final movie was the peak activity in
the learning process. All role holders participated in the
production of the movie, where each comprised a com-
plementary part in the production process. Production of
the movie also included experiences not examined in the
present research (producer, investigator, sound person,
script writer). The production included the directing of
the movie, photographing it, acting and editing. The
learning process and the reaching of conclusions were
performed in real time, during the production via instruc-
tion by the coordinator and in collaboration with the di-
rector.
135 students from the research group were tested indi-
vidually in the post-test questionnaire, in role analysis
and in a self-image questionnaire (15 students who par-
ticipated in the first part of the research were absent from
the second part, 10 were absent since one group closed
during the year and 5 for personal reasons). 40 students
from the control group were individually tested in the
questionnaires for measuring the variables chosen in the
role analysis and in the self-image questionnaire (10 stu-
dents were absent for personal reasons). The order of the
tests was identical for all subjects.
Of the 135 students in the research group who were
tested a second time, 119 remained to the end, since 16
questionnaires were invalidated or because of incomplete
answering of the questionnaire or because of experienc-
ing a role not included in the research. Of the 40 students
in the control group, 38 remained since 2 questionnaires
were invalidated or because of incomplete answering of
the questionnaire.
After the learning and the production ended, 61 stu-
dents were interviewed. Each interview lasted about 30
minutes. The students were asked 17 questions referring
to the process they underwent, which tried to clarify their
feelings, what they thought the process developed, what
in the process caused the development, did something
change in their ability, what in the course caused the
change, etc. The interviewer presented general questions
as well as leading questions in order to guide the students.
The interviews were recorded on a tape recorder and
were later transcribed. The interviews were conducted by
teachers with experience in educational work with youths
who received written and oral instruction pertaining to
the interview design, being strict about a pleasant at-
mosphere, eye contact with the interviewee, directing the
students, expected answers and how to refer to them.
3. Results
The research was carried out in two stages. In the first
stage a comparison was made between the subjects who
experienced community television production processes
(the research group) and subjects who did not experience
these production processes (the control group). The
groups were matched in terms of the students’ level and
their socioeconomic level.
The second stage was intended for the 119 students
who experienced the television production processes.
These students included 71 boys and 48 girls and were
divided into four role holders according to their experi-
ence in the production process: director, photographer,
actor and editor. The boys were divided into 19 directors,
12 editors, 18 photographers and 22 actors and the girls
into 9 directors, 15 editors, 14 photographers and 10 ac-
tors.
3.1 Tendency to Creativity
The variable tendency to creativity was divided into the
measures curiosity and creativity. The means of the curi-
osity measure before and after the students’ experience in
community television production among the research
group are presented according to the nature of the role
(type of experience). The differences in the level of curi-
osity before and after the experience in community tele-
vision in each of the types of experience (director, editor,
photographer, actor) were examined by a t test for de-
pendent measurements. A significant difference was
found in the means of the curiosity measure before and
after the experience in community television production
in each of the experience types: director (p < 0.001,
one-way, t(27) = –4.49), editor (p < 0.001, one-way, t(26)
= –7.29), photographer (p < 0.001, one-way, t(31) =
–7.39), and actor (p < 0.001, one-way, t(31) = –5.11).
Thus, all four roles resulted in a higher level of curiosity
after the experience in community television compared to
its level before the experience.
The means of the originality measure before and after
the students’ experience in community television produc-
tion according to the nature of the role (type of experi-
ence) are presented in Table 2. The differences in the
level of originality before and after the experience in
community television in each of the types of experience
(director, editor, photographer, actor) were examined by
a t test for dependent measurements. A significant dif-
ference was found in the means of the originality meas-
ure before and after the experience in community televi-
sion production in each of the experience types: director
(p < 0.001, one-way, t(27) = –6.36), editor (p < 0.001,
one-way, t(26) = –5.19), photographer (p < 0.001,
one-way, t(31) = –7.89), and actor (p < 0.001, one-way,
t(31) = –5.21). Thus, all four roles resulted in a higher
level of originality after the experience in community
television compared to its level before the experience.
The means of the general tendency to creativity meas-
ure before and after the experience in community televi-
sion according to the nature of the role (level of experi-
ence) are presented in Table 3. The differences in the
level of the tendency to creativity before and after the

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
74
experience in community television in each of the types
of experience (director, editor, photographer, actor) were
examined by a t test for dependent measurements. A sig-
nificant difference was found in the means of the ten-
dency to creativity measure before and after the experi-
ence in community television production in each of the
experience types: director (p < 0.001, one-way, t(27) =
–6.41), editor (p < 0.001, one-way, t(26) = –5.53), pho-
tographer (p < 0.001, one-way, t(31) = –7.97), and actor
(p < 0.001, one-way, t(31) = –5.16). Thus, all four roles
resulted in a higher tendency to creativity level after the
experience in community television compared to its level
before the experience.
The differences in the tendency to creativity level
among the students in the control group before and after
the period during which the students in the research
group experienced community television were examined
by a t test for dependent measurements. A significant
difference was found in the means of the measure of cu-
riosity among the students in the control group in the
period before and after the students in the research group
experienced community television (p < 0.001, t(37) =
3.47). Furthermore, the tendency to creativity level was
found to be higher before the experience in community
television among the research group (mean = 3.85) com-
pared to after the period of the experience in community
television (mean = 3.68).
No significant difference was found in the means of
the measure of originality or the means of the general
tendency to creativity among the students in the control
group in the period before and after the students in the
research group experienced community television pro-
duction (p < 0.05).
One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was per-
formed. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found
in the level of the self-image (personal, social, moral and
general measure), the tendency to creativity (curiosity,
originality and general measure), leadership (charisma,
inspiration, individualism, intellectual stimulation and
general measure), motivation to give, emotional intensity
and motivation between the students according to their
choice of role.
3.2 Interviews
The qualitative findings of the research were obtained
Table 2. Originality, means among students who experi-
enced community television production according to the
nature of the role
Role N Mean beforeSD Mean afterSD
Director 28 3.22 0.53 3.97 0.52
Editor 27 3.15 0.69 3.88 0.56
Photographer 32 3.08 0.50 3.91 0.58
Actor 32 2.93 0.73 3.56 0.48
through an interview held with the students after their
experience. The goal of the interview was to compare the
quantitative results and the students’ subjective feelings
as well as to find out what in their opinion contributed to
their development and improvement. The students’ fre-
quent answers are presented in Table 4.
4. Discussion
This research focused on the relationship between stu-
dents’ experience in community television and a change
in their creative thinking ability. The goal of the research
was to examine whether experience in community televi-
sion develops the creative thinking ability in the students
and whether different experiences have different effects
on the creative thinking ability as presented in the role
analysis. The tendency to creativity variable was divided
into two factors, curiosity and originality.
Curiosity: The curiosity factor included statements that
refer to the desire to know, to learn new things and to be
open to the experiences of others. It was found that the
level of curiosity was higher after the experience in
community television than before the experience in all
four experiences, with no difference between the differ-
ent experiences.
Curiosity is perceived as a motive force in the child’s
development [55], as incentive for learning achievements
[56] and as a major lever for advancing scientific discov-
eries [57]. The learning process by means of experienc-
ing community television developed more curious stu-
dents. Their level of curiosity increased, including the
need to ask questions and the need to know. Experience
in community television enables coping with situations
of curiosity in each of the roles. Curiosity is a type of
inquiry, a desire to know more, to discover. Maw and
Maw [58] defined curiosity as a combination of a posi-
tive reaction to new, strange or mysterious events while
investigating them, the need or aspiration to know more
about yourself or your environment, surveying the envi-
ronment with the aim of finding new experiences, focus-
ing on the examination and inquiry of stimuli in order to
know more about them. The students experienced roles
that created the need for curiosity.
Originality: The originality factor included statements
that refer to original thinking, flexible and branching
thinking, thought fluency and the desire to remember new
Table 3. Tendency to creativity, means mong students who
experienced community television production according to
the nature of the role
Role NMean before SD Mean afterSD
Director 283.35 0.51 4.07 0.46
Editor 273.24 0.66 3.95 0.51
Photographer323.17 0.57 4.02 0.54
Actor 323.02 0.72 3.66 0.47

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level 75
Table 4. A summary of the students’ frequent answers in the interviews is presented according to the type of experience
Question Director Editor Photographer Actor
Answer of the
majority
What in your opin-
ion does the proc-
ess contribute?
Self-confidence Understanding/
information Understanding/information Understand- ing/information
Understanding/
information
What developed in
you? Understanding/learning Understanding/ learning Understanding/learning Understanding /learning
Understand-
ing/learning
What in the course
caused the devel-
opment?
The cooperation The role The role The role The role
Did this change
something in your
personality?
Self-confidence
Express an
opinion, par-
ticipate more
Self-confidence Self-confidence Self-confidence
How do you know
that this caused a
change?
Feel
Feel, am more
interested in
issues
Feel Feel Feel
What in the course
caused the change? Performing the role Performing the role Performing the role Performing the role
Performing the
role
Did this change
something in your
ability?
Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge
How do you know
that it changed? Feel Feel Feel Feel Feel
In what do you feel
you improved the
most?
Self-image, originality Self-image Self-image Self-image Self-image
How do you feel?
According to what?
Am not afraid, feel confi-
dence
Am not afraid,
feel confidenceAm not afraid, feel confidence Am not afraid, feel confidence
Am not afraid,
feel confidence
How is the im-
provement ex-
pressed?
When I am with people I
feel openness and im-
provement
By the profes-
sional work
I have confidence that when I
am with people I feel openness
and improvement
By the profes-
sional work
When I am with
people I feel
openness and
improvement
What changes do
you feel in your
ability following
the improvement?
Am not ashamed, confi-
dence
Feel greater
efficacy Am not ashamed, confidence Feel greater efficacy
Feel greater effi-
cacy
How can this be
improved further?
Exposure, training, and
experience
Exposure,
training, and
experience
Exposure, training, and experi-
ence
Exposure,
training, and
experience
Exposure, train-
ing, and experi-
ence
What is the second
concept in which
you feel an im-
provement?
Motivation to give Motivation Motivation to give, motivation Motivation Motivation
How do you feel
that it improved?
I have a desire to do
things
I have a desire
to do things I have a desire to do things I have a desire to do things
I have a desire to
do things
What in the course
caused this to im-
prove?
The role I
was given
The role I was
given The role I was given The role I was given
The role I was
given
What changesdo
you feel in your
ability?
Professional abilities Professional
abilities Professional abilities Professional abilities
Professional
abilities
things. The level of originality was higher after the ex-
perience in community television than before the experi-
ence in all four experiences, with no difference between
the different experiences. “When making movies there
are no rules, there are only sins and the greatest sin of all
is: boredom.” For the movie to be interesting the produc-
tion team must exhibit a great degree of originality. Ori-
ginality is the sophistication of something existing, the
ability to see something that we knew existed for genera-
tions in reality from a new point of view. The students
experienced roles that created a need for originality.
Tendency to creativity (general measure): The level of
the tendency to creativity was higher after the experience
in community television than before the experience in all
four experiences, with no difference between the differ-
ent experiences. Creative thinking can be taught by means
of cultivating thinking patterns. Researches indicate an
improvement in the tendency to creativity by training and
the development of the abilities of creative thinking by
means of different teaching methodologies [29]. The
students who experienced community television devel-
oped their tendency to creativity after the experience

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
76
thanks to the teaching methodologies which they experi-
enced when fulfilling their roles.
The goal of education is to educate people who are
able to create new things and not just repeat the actions
of previous generations: creative people, inventors, dis-
coverers and scientists. We need active students who
learn to search and find on their own and by spontaneous
activity as well as by material edited by us, so that they
will be able to differentiate between what has been
proven and the first idea that came to their mind. This is
how the students who experienced production roles cre-
ated a new creation and developed a tendency to creativity.
The research results can be concluded as follows: Com-
munity television is a learning environment that enables all
students to experience a role according to their talents
and abilities. Experience in this environment develops
the self-image regardless of the type of experience. The
director, editor, photographer and actor all improved their
level of self-image, with no differences between them.
A learning environment that enables a group of stu-
dents to each experience a different role and enables them
to contribute according to their desire and belief in their
ability, with a common goal, affords the participants
pride in the process and creates an added value that com-
prises a very important factor for the process of consoli-
dating the self-image. The improvement in the self-image
stemmed from the students’ good feeling upon finishing
the task. Since different experiences are suitable for dif-
ferent students [59], the students will develop their self-
image by fulfilling a role after having completed the ex-
pectations of them within the framework of their work,
regardless of the role.
The students’ experience in community television has
a positive influence on the tendency to creativity, in all
experienced roles: director, editor, photographer, and
actor. Many psychological theories present ways for ac-
tualizing the creative ability (experiential learning, learning
from experience, leaning by doing, autonomous learning,
the multiple intelligences theory, open tools). Commu-
nity television enables a total learning environment that
unites the abovementioned theories.
Experience in community television production roles,
similarly to the constructivist theory, is focused on the
students, their choice and experience. However, it sets
clear boundaries within the framework of the production
roles that enable a uniform and clear direction of action
on the way to achieve the product. This environment
invites open learning on the one hand and a clear and
directing framework on the other hand, that enables the
production of a product, a feeling of success and comple-
tion.
Experience in a defined task that enables the students
acquaintance with the role, its goals and products to-
gether with the belief that they can indeed realize it is
significant for developing the creative thinking ability.
When the students perform a task and succeed in it,
where the combination of all the efforts leads to a higher
product (a movie), the success of the entire group joins
the success of the individual, thus strengthening the crea-
tive ability. The students view the production of the
movie as their personal success and thus both the per-
formance of a defined role together with the ability to
bring it to a finish as well as the cumulative success ex-
pressed by the finished movie joins their achievements
and gives them power. When I have a part in the success
of the entire group, my contribution becomes much more
significant. The ability for creative thinking increases
and is strengthened both because of my individual suc-
cess in performing my role and because of my success as
part of a group with a common goal. The individuals’
success in fulfilling their role is strengthened when they
acts as part of a group with a common task.
The constructivist theory espouses the idea that stu-
dents construct their knowledge from their experience,
through the experience. The present framework focuses
on the students. The students choose the learning activi-
ties, and the learning goals and learning environment are
adapted to the students’ needs via independent learning
and self-structuration of the knowledge. Experience in
community television, similarly to the constructivist the-
ory, enables the students to construct their knowledge
while experiencing production roles. It is student-focused
and the students choose the role, the learning environ-
ment and the experience environment within which they
will perform their part in the production. The students are
active learners who learn by experience, cope and strive
for meaning. The knowledge is tested in their conscious
based on their experience in the activity in the production
roles and their interpretation and knowledge structure
become more sophisticated.
The constructivist theory claims that people under-
stand the world differently because they have different
past experiences. So also in community television, the
role holders see their goal differently from each other
because of the different experiences in the production
process. Correct teamwork, shared production and clear
division of roles enables the production people to sit to-
gether, understand each other and the other’s importance
and role and thus achieve a shared product.
“We are not searching for what the students can repeat,
but rather what they can create, demonstrate and pre-
sent.” The experience in community television enables
the students to create, demonstrate and present according
to the role they chose. This experience affords the stu-
dent an opportunity to construct knowledge by asking
questions in the process of carrying out an investigation,
questions that pertain to the process of producing the
movie, to the photography angles, to the process of edit-
ing and to the form of acting, to collect information via
an in-depth investigation and the correct work of the di-

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level 77
rector and activation of abilities that characterize the role
in order to connect between asking the questions and
collecting the information on the way to produce the
movie. The experience is based on the principles of con-
structivist teaching but contrary to constructivist teaching
this learning is characterized by a clear and absolute
framework for the construction of knowledge. The stu-
dents are on the one hand free to choose the role and how
to obtain the information, but on the other hand are di-
rected by the production framework that affords clear
and uniform (production) tools on the way to the product.
Experience in community television production roles
enables the students to choose both the theme of their
movie and the active part they will take in the learning
process. The students investigate and examine the rele-
vant information for the idea that leads to the movie and
in the end choose to produce one part. They must present
a diversity of opinions for every truth, must listen to
more than one side in order to be objective and create
trust in the viewers. If the teaching is supposed to culti-
vate understanding, it must come to the students and
meet them in the place they are found intellectually. The
results of the present research indicate that experience in
community television enables all students to choose the
role they will experience according to their personal ten-
dencies, intelligences that characterize them out of the
multiple existing intelligences, and personal abilities.
The students learn through experience, learn from ex-
perience, learn while presenting the products to the class
and their evaluation is carried out as part of the learning
process and using the means they used during the pro-
duction process (not by an exam).
Learning by experiencing community television pro-
duction is learning with an open tool. When working
with open tools, the personal responsibility for learning
increases, with the development of abilities and skills for
direction towards independent learning. Technology en-
ables active construction of knowledge. Active involve-
ment in the construction, alone or with cooperation, may
influence the mind. Constructing programs, for example
in the computer, forces the students to significantly con-
nect between the items of their knowledge. Students who
write a hypertext lead their audience to understand an
idea through connections they planned. Organizing the
knowledge in a meaningful manner cultivates the self-
understanding of the writer. So also in community televi-
sion: the students, each in the role they chose, lead the
viewer via the product they created (the movie), while
connecting between the different items of information to
the main idea and passing through the contexts they
planned in order to best present the theme of the movie.
The technological revolution which is taking place is
accompanied by a pedagogical and social revolution that
includes placing the students in the center of the learning
process, taking into account the differences between stu-
dents and their social needs, using alternative modes of
evaluation and greater freedom of choice for the students.
Experience in community television places the students
in the center of the learning process and allows them to
choose from a variety of experiences in order to enable a
constructivist learning process according to the students’
wishes and fields of interest. Learning in community tele-
vision enables use of an open tool, but with clear bounda-
ries. It affords a framework that is interactive, open and
supplies experiences with expression of multiple intelli-
gences and active learning on the one hand, and on the
other hand the roles of all role holders are clear, defined
and structured, the framework is uniform and the goal of
all role holders is to achieve a particular product - the
movie.
The present research proposes an open learning envi-
ronment that enables the student imagination, experi-
menting and action with a feeling of “no limits.” The
learning environment focuses on the students and the
students choose the learning activities and learning goals
by independent learning and self-structuration of the
knowledge. The entire process converges within the
framework of a clear and structured production that en-
ables the students to express abilities, tendencies and
intelligences, through interaction with members of their
group, according to their roles and abilities, while ex-
periencing existing and defined roles and producing a
product – the movie – according to existing rules. The
environment enables the students to develop traits, ten-
dencies and abilities. The students feel that they can ex-
press themselves in any way they choose, but are placed
within a directing framework that enables a rapid product
and a feeling of success. This leads to an improvement in
the self-image, tendency to creativity, motivation to give,
emotional intensity and motivation. This environment
invites open learning that enables experience through
choice on the one hand and on the other hand a clear and
directing framework that enables production of a product
as part of a group which comprises empowerment for the
feeling of success and thus improvement of the creative
thinking ability.
The students’ experience in community television has
a positive influence on the tendency to creativity (curios-
ity, originality and general creative tendency) in all ex-
perience roles: director, editor, photographer, and actor.
The students’ experience in community television has a
positive influence on the extent of intellectual stimulation
in all experience roles: director, editor, photographer,
actor, where the degree of improvement was greater among
those who experienced the role of director or photographer.
The present research leads to several educational con-
clusions. Experience in community television production
enabled the students’ active learning by which they de-
veloped their tendency to creativity. This learning envi-
ronment was found suitable for learning via active learn-

Activation of Community Television and its Influence on Students’ Creative Thinking Level
78
ing by adapting the curriculum to needs of the individual
and enabling free expression, learning, experience and
action.
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