A Problem based and Task based Integrated Instructional Approach to the Development of Translation Creativity and Quality
Abstract
This study investigated the impact of an integrated problem-based and task-based learning (PBL-TBL) approach on the development of translation creativity and translation quality among undergraduate translator trainees. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was employed with 33 fourth-year translation students at Jahad Daneshgahi University of Ahvaz. The 15-week intervention consisted of 15 literary translation tasks designed around authentic, ill-structured objective translation problems as defined by Nord, implemented collaboratively in small groups following a structured problem-based learning cycle. Translation creativity was measured using an adapted model combining acceptability, novelty, and Holst's eight-level ordinal hierarchy of creative shifts; the reported percentages represent the proportion of Units of Creative Potential successfully resolved through acceptable, novel solutions. Translation quality was assessed by means of Waddington's holistic rubric. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed an increase in creativity scores from pre-test (4.44%) to post-test (56.24%), with a large effect size. Quality scores also improved from 5.30 out of 10 to 8.36, and 72.7% of participants achieved ‘Successful’ ratings in the post-test. While the absence of a control group is acknowledged as a limitation, the magnitude and timing of the observed gains suggest that maturation effects alone are unlikely to account for the improvements. The findings appear to indicate that a structured PBL-TBL curriculum may be associated with noticeable gains in translation creativity and quality, offering support for the view that creativity is a teachable competence.
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Copyright Licensee: Iranian Journal of Translation Studies. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0 license).
