The purpose of this study is to examine the development of a PBL (Problem-based
Learning)-based Education Program for gifted students in science. A review of current articles
and research on the needs of education programs for the gifted in science shows that a
consistent improvement on the way we approach scientific creativity and investigation has been
made; thus, it is also important to show the benefits of such a program to developing children’s
creativity. This Problem-based Learning program consisted of ten twenty-two hour sessions.
Each session had a creative problem solving activity: making an animal automobile bowl,
launching a rubber band through the Law of Elasticity, making a roller coaster using
Centrifugal Forces, making a mobile through an understanding of Force Balance, making
moving toys through an understanding of Power Forward, and making a space station through
the Laws of Solar Energy. An experimental group of seventeen sixth-graders in a science class
and a control group of seventeen sixth-graders in a math class were chosen from District G of
the SMOE Education Center for the Gifted. The Creativity Inventory Checklist, as developed by
Hanguk Guidance, was then used in order to observe the effects of the program on the
students’ creativity. This checklist breaks creativity down into three subordinate categories:
creative personality, creative thinking ability and creative motivation. A statistical analysis using
i-STATistics was also conducted. The research results are as follows: Firstly, the students who
participated in this program formed effective creative personalities (t=2.7515, p<.01) and
creative thinking abilities(t=2.2969, p<.05); Secondly, the control group revealed that there were
few significant statistical differences in the students’ creative thinking abilities and creative
motivation, but that they formed creative personalities (t=2.6362, p<.01). It appears as though
the SMOE Education Center for the Gifted increases students’ creativity. This study shows that
a PBL-based Education Program promotes the creativity of those in the Gifted Science program.
Furthermore, this study reveals insights on managing the Gifted in Science curricula and the
SMOE Education Center for Gifted Students.