Social Science and Human Research Bulletin

Creative thinking skills are essential key competencies for the twenty-first century. They enable flexibility and help us navigate the opportunities and challenges of our complex, rapidly changing world. The growing emphasis on innovation, alongside reports of declining creative performance, highlights the importance of cultivating these skills in education.  In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on nurturing and teaching creativity early in schools. While creativity is an integral part of arts education, it is less frequently emphasized in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects. Ultimately, what truly matters is the manner in which these subjects are being taught. Implementing creativity training could enhance creative thinking and hold significant benefits for educational institutions. Similar cognitive techniques that can be employed for this purpose are, i.e, metacognitive strategies that involve self-reflective thinking. Metacognition plays a central role in many areas of education and learning, such as reading, writing, language acquisition, attention, memory, and problem-solving, among others. In this study, we explore the mental functions of metacognition and creativity and the different ways they can be used to improve students’ academic performance, with a particular focus on mathematical performance.  Overall, the current review study may have theoretical and practical implications for educational institutions.

Creativity, Metacognition, Creative Thinking, Mathematics Education, STEM Education, Academic Performance

1. Brophy, D. R. (1998). Understanding, measuring, and enhancing individual creative problem-solving efforts. Creativity Research Journal, 11(2), 123–150.
2. Cao, Q., Cohen, M., Bakkour, A., Leong, Y., & Decety, J. (2024). Moral conviction interacts with metacognitive ability in modulating neural activity during sociopolitical decision-making. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/bdw5t
3. Carroll, J. (2020). Imagination, the brain’s default mode network, and imaginative verbal artifacts. Evolutionary Perspectives on Imaginative Culture, 31–52.
4. Carruthers, P. (2021). Explicit nonconceptual metacognition. Philosophical Studies,178(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-020-01557-1
5. Cera, R., Mancini, M., & Antonietti, A. (2014). Relationships between Metacognition, Self-efficacy and Self-regulation in Learning. ECPS - Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies, 7. https://doi.org/10.7358/ecps-2013-007-cera.
6. Deliyianni, E., Elia, I., & Gagatsis, A. (2009). A Theoretical Model of Students’ Geometrical Figure Understanding. Cerme 6.
7. Deliyianni, E., Gagatsis, A., Elia, I., & Panaoura, A. (2016). Representational Flexibility and Problem-Solving Ability in Fraction and Decimal Number Addition: A Structural Model. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-015-9625-6
8. Elia, I., Panaoura, A., Eracleous, A., & Gagatsis, A. (2007). Relations between secondary pupils’ conceptions about functions and problem solving in different representations. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-006-9054-7
9. Elia, I., Gagatsis, A., Panaoura, A., Zachariades, T., & Zoulinaki, F. (2009). Geometric and algebraic approaches in the concept of “limit” and the impact of the “didactic contract.” International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-009-9149-z
10. Elia, I., Panaoura, A., Gagatsis, A., Gravvani, K., & Spyrou, P. (2008). Exploring different aspects of the understanding of function: Toward a four-facet model. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/14926150802152277
11. Fleur, D. S., de Groot, E. C., Bredeweg, B., & van den Bos, W. (2025). Neural correlates of metacognition in education: a machine learning approach. Neuropsychologia, 109265.
12. Gilhooly, K., & Webb, M. E. (2018). Working memory in insight problem solving. Insight, 105–119.
13. Khalid, M., Saad, S., Abdul Hamid, S. R., Ridhuan Abdullah, M. ., Ibrahim, H., & Shahrill, M. (2020). Enhancing creativity and problem-solving skills through creative problem-solving in teaching mathematics. Creativity Studies, 13(2), 270-291. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2020.11027
14. Kounios, J., & Beeman, M. (2009). The aha! Moment: The cognitive neuroscience of insight. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(4), 210–216. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01638.x
15. Legg, A. M., & Locker Jr, L. (2009). Math performance and its relationship to math anxiety and metacognition. North American Journal of Psychology, 11(3). 
16. Master, S., Li, S., & Curtis, C. (2024). Trying Harder: How Cognitive Effort Sculpts Neural Representations during Working Memory. The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official  Journal   of   the  Society   for   Neuroscience,   44 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0060-24.2024
17. Moore, M. L., & Milkoreit, M. (2020). Imagination and transformations to sustainable and just futures. In Elementa (Vol. 8, Issue 1). https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.081
18. Ocak, C., Yadav, A., & Rich, K. M. (2025). Exploring young children’s metacognition during unplugged computational thinking. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 100767.
19. Panaoura, A., Elia, I., Gagatsis, A., & Giatilis, G. P. (2006). Geometric and algebraic approaches in the concept of complex numbers. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 37(6). https://doi.org/10.1080/00207390600712281
20. Panaoura, A., Michael-Chrysanthou, P., Gagatsis, A., Elia, I., & Philippou, A. (2017). A Structural Model Related to the Understanding of the Concept of Function: Definition and Problem Solving. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 15(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-016-9714-1
21. Ritter, S.M., Mostert, N. Enhancement of Creative Thinking Skills Using a Cognitive-Based Creativity Training. J Cogn Enhanc 1, 243–253 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-016-0002-3
22. Su, H. F. H., Ricci, F. A., & Mnatsakanian, M. (2016). Mathematical teaching strategies: Pathways to critical thinking and metacognition. International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 2(1), 190–200.
23. Vos, H. (2001). Metacognition in higher education (Vol. 154). Twente University Press Enschede.
24. Wang, X. M., Huang, X. T., & Zhou, W. Q. (2024). The effect of university students' self-efficacy on problem-solving disposition: The chained dual mediating role of metacognition disposition and critical thinking disposition. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 54, 101658
25. Wells, A., & Capobianco, L. (2020). Metacognition. In Clinical handbook of fear and anxiety: Maintenance processes and treatment mechanisms. (pp. 171–182). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000150-010