CREATIVE COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS AT SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS IN SOLVING PHYSICS EXPERIMENTAL PROBLEMS

Developing creative competence is required by Vietnam’s 2018 General Education curriculum and is especially important for specialized high school students who face new, complex, and open-ended tasks. In Physics, this competence involves not only logical and mathematical reasoning but also the ability to propose, design, implement, and evaluate experimental solutions. However, Physics-specialized students may struggle to transfer theoretical solutions to non-ideal experimental conditions. This study clarifies the structure of creative competence in solving physics experimental problems and develops an assessment rubrics. Methods included theoretical analysis, purposeful literature review, expert consultation, and preliminary testing. Four components were identified: Proposing ideas and designing experimental solutions; flexible manipulation and equipment fabrication; data optimization and error handling; and evaluation and critique of experimental solutions. The rubric comprises eight behavioral indicators and four performance levels, from Model-following to Breakthrough. Ten experts evaluated the framework (average content validity index = 0.87), and two raters assessed 30 Grade 10 Physics-specialized students (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.84). The framework supports teachers in identifying creative competence and designing interventions through experimental problems.