Abstract: Example priming is an effective method for learning in well-structured fields such as mathematics or physics, as well as in less-structured fields like creativity. Examples focus learner's attention on information for schema construction and avoid extensive search processes. Meanwhile, they prove a central characteristic of experts' problem solving. Therefore, learning from examples imposes lower levels of cognitive load, which makes more cognitive resources free for the demanding process of creative scientific problem finding. The study selected 1404 middle school students randomly from 4 urban schools and 2 rural schools. A mixed experiment design of the 3(example priming format: high creative examples/low creative examples/no examples)×2(question style: opened question/closed question) model was used in the study, which applied Consensual Assessment Technique, Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Simple Effect Analysis to explore the influence of example priming in Creative Scientific Problem Finding Ability (CSPF) of middle school students. The results indicated that: 1) High creative examples could promote CSPF in closed question, while low creative examples affected it; both high and low creative examples restrained CSPF in opened question; 2) Low creative examples had greater inhibiting impact on opened question than on the closed question.

Key words: example priming, creative scientific problem finding ability, opened question, closed question

摘要： 选取1404名中学生，采用混合实验设计，通过呈现不同创造性水平样例，探索不同样例启动方式对中学生创造性科学问题提出能力的影响。结果表明：（1）封闭式题目水平上，高创造性样例对中学生创造性科学问题提出能力有促进作用，低创造性样例则有明显抑制作用；开放式题目水平上，高创造性样例与低创造性样例对创造性科学问题提出能力均有抑制作用；（2）低创造性样例对开放式题目的抑制作用大于对封闭式题目的抑制作用。

关键词: 样例启动, 创造性科学问题提出能力, 开放式题目, 封闭式题目