The Effects of Transmediation on Students' Creativity through Collaborative Composin

The purpose of this action research was to investigate the process and the effect of the transmediation (translation of content from one media to another) on students' creativity. The goal was achieved by focusing on: (a) students' collaborative strategies of translating non-musical sources to musical compositions; (b) the effects of the level of abstraction of the sources on students' creative processes and products; and (c) the effects of transmediation on students' general and domain-specific creativity compared to the general music classes.;This study was conducted in a Grade 8 beginner strings' class of thirteen students. The study was divided into two phases: the teacher taught six classes, then the students were divided into groups of four or five to compose musical pieces through transmediating the given source. Six classes were spent translating verbal, visual, and video sources, with each mode containing one direct and one abstract source. Students were tested three times throughout the study (before and after phase 1, and after phase 2) with two tests on musical and general creativity.;The results revealed that students were able to use multiple modes of communication effectively to face the challenge of transmediation: verbal expression to describe and give precise directions; musical sound to demonstrate musical ideas; and gestures to point, demonstrate, and express rejection or acceptance of ideas. Second, when students were working with more abstract sources, the number of interactions significantly increased, and the products demonstrated more complex levels of transmediation. Third, the increase of the test scores was significantly greater after the transmediation unit, suggesting that it had greater positive effects on students' creativity than the general music classes. Overall, the findings suggest that the right level of transmediation task is effective in fostering students' domain-specific and general creativity.