Creative Confidence and the Arts: Measuring a Potential Contributing Factor to Students' Motivation to Engage in Engineering Creativity

Author(s):  
Hannah Smith ◽  
David Strong

Engineering is well established as a profession which requires complex, open-ended problem solving. Creativity is instrumental in these processes, but graduating engineering students have been found to lack creative thinking skills. In order to engage in creative thinking, students must first be motivated to do so. Creative self-efficacy (or creative confidence) has been tied to increased internal motivation, and involvement in creative arts activities can lead to increased self-efficacy beliefs. This paper will discuss the development of a survey instrument that will be used to investigate the potential correlation between student involvement in creative arts and their internal motivation to engage in engineering creativity.The survey instrument includes 1 open-ended question, a creative arts inventory, and 46 closed-ended questions to measure creative self, creative mindset, and tolerance of fears that hinder creative confidence. Evidence for validity of the instrument is established through the pilot study.

2022 ◽  
pp. 175-196
Author(s):  
Marja Bertrand ◽  
Immaculate Kizito Namukasa

Globally, computational thinking and coding in schools has become more popular as well as a growing area of interest in education reform. Coupling coding with creative thinking promises to meaningfully engage students in their learning and to improve their coding and computational thinking skills. This prompts discussions about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), which promotes creativity and innovation through the integration of the arts in STEM subjects. This study addresses the following question: What mathematics and computational thinking do students learn through different models of STEAM education in non-profit and in-school contexts? A small sample was taken of four different STEAM programs in Ontario, Canada. We carried out a qualitative case study with 103 participants, 19 adults and 84 students. The findings from this study have implications for designing, implementing and researching K-8 STEAM programs that promote coding and computational thinking skills in the context of learning mathematics.


Author(s):  
Barbara Ann Temple

Engaging with subject matter in isolation stymies creativity, promotes rote learning, and limits development of divergent thinking skills. Conversely, a transdisciplinary approach to math develops critical and creative thinking skills, strengthens problem solving capacity, and promotes metacognition. In this pilot study, the design-based research process began with sharing initial intervention ideas for elementary Math lessons with participants at an international elementary Math conference. Utilizing participant feedback as part of the iterative process, three specific interventions for second-grade Math concepts were designed with intentional infusion of Science and the Arts. The ultimate goal for this research is the design of an effective elementary Math curriculum offering authentic, real-world learning through a transdisciplinary approach.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogelio Puente-Diaz ◽  
Judith Cavazos Arroyo

AbstractWe examined the role of task-, self- and other-approach achievement goals and enjoyment as antecedents of creative self-efficacy and the influence of creative self-efficacy on divergent thinking scores among children from Mexico. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires measuring achievement goals, creative self-efficacy, enjoyment and divergent thinking skills. We used Structural Equation Modelling to test our hypotheses, treating the variables as latent. Results showed a positive influence of other-approach achievement goals and enjoyment on creative self-efficacy. The influence of creative self-efficacy on divergent thinking scores was not significant. The implications of our results are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad M Alzoubi ◽  
Mohammad F Al Qudah ◽  
Ismael Salameh Albursan ◽  
Salaheldin F Bakhiet ◽  
Adel S Abduljabbar

<p>This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of creative thinking education on enhancing creative self-efficacy and cognitive motivation. The sample consisted of 44 female students studying childhood education in the Princess Alia University College divided into two groups (experimental and control). The experimental group was taught a unit in creative thinking whereas the control group was not. Data were collected using two tools; first, a creative self-efficacy scale that included two dimensions (self-efficacy in creative thinking and creative performance) and second, a cognitive motivation scale that included three dimensions (curiosity, discovery, and questioning). Data showed significant differences between experimental and control groups in creative self-efficacy and its dimensions, and also in cognitive motivation and two of its dimensions (curiosity and discovery) in favor of the experimental group. No significant difference was found between the two groups in questioning. We recommend embedding creative thinking education in study courses.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferris M. Pfeiffer ◽  
Rachel E. Bauer ◽  
Steve Borgelt ◽  
Suzanne Burgoyne ◽  
Sheila Grant ◽  
...  

The creative process is fun, complex, and sometimes frustrating, but it is critical to the future of our nation and progress in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), as well as other fields. Thus, we set out to see if implementing methods of active learning typical to the theater department could impact the creativity of senior capstone design students in the bioengineering (BE) department. Senior bioengineering capstone design students were allowed to self-select into groups. Prior to the beginning of coursework, all students completed a validated survey measuring engineering design self-efficacy. The control and experimental groups both received standard instruction, but in addition the experimental group received 1 h per week of creativity training developed by a theater professor. Following the semester, the students again completed the self-efficacy survey. The surveys were examined to identify differences in the initial and final self-efficacy in the experimental and control groups over the course of the semester. An analysis of variance was used to compare the experimental and control groups with p < 0.05 considered significant. Students in the experimental group reported more than a twofold (4.8 (C) versus 10.9 (E)) increase of confidence. Additionally, students in the experimental group were more motivated and less anxious when engaging in engineering design following the semester of creativity instruction. The results of this pilot study indicate that there is a significant potential to improve engineering students' creative self-efficacy through the implementation of a “curriculum of creativity” which is developed using theater methods.


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