Teaching Creative Problem Solving in Engineering Education

2016 ◽  
pp. 94-115
Author(s):  
René Victor Valqui Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
University Students ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Creative Processes ◽  
Methods And Techniques ◽  
Creative Problem

In this chapter, the principles of active learning and the contents of a creativity course entitled: Creativity and Problem Solving, are presented. The main purpose of this course was to create a space for discussing, reflecting and experimenting with creativity, creative processes and creative methods of relevance for university students working with problem-solving approaches. This course was developed at the Technical University of Denmark during the period 1998-2008 for engineering students of various specialities. It started with very few students and developed to a very popular course attracting many students from abroad. The selected themes, the methods and techniques, the structure of the course, the learning processes and the achieved results can be applied to a similar course for university students of other fields such as IT, Mangement Sciences, System Sciences, Computer Sciences, Design, Agriculture, Businees, Art and Education, etc. Finally some reflections, recommendations, and conclusions are also presented.

scholarly journals Merging Engineering Education with Service-Learning: How Community Based Projects Encourage Socially Conscious Engineers

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22
Author(s):  
Aaron Brown ◽  
Michael Bauer
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Attrition Rate ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Creative Problem

Engineers provide essential services to society, solving pressing challenges through technological inventiveness. Students new to engineering often cite the lure of creative problem solving as attracting them to the discipline. However, traditional engineering curricula typically focus on a narrow application of fundamentals for solving closed-ended problems. Too often, engineering programs do not encourage inventive expression in problem solving. Not surprisingly, the attrition rate for engineering programs is unusually high. Recently, engineering education has shifted its focus to new, more engaging practices that incorporate hands-on methods, boosting prospects for students to engage in creative problem solving. Because service learning provides opportunities for applied work, incorporating it into engineering education programs in can engage students positively and lower attrition rates. Moreover, since engineers are fundamentally involved with social improvement, then engaging students in activities that expand their understanding of the potential impact their skills may impart to a community is not only prudent but best practices. This paper explores two case studies of community-based service learning engineering projects, highlighting community partnerships, analyses and decision-making that helped drive designs and outcomes. It explores how both the communities and students benefitted, focusing notably on the influence these activities had on student understanding of their work, academic and/or professional direction and social consciousness. These are analyzed via longitudinal reporting of students incorporating lessons learned several years post-project. The service learning projects took place in marginalized communities in Denver and Costa Rica. In the Denver project, engineering students designed, built and installed low cost solar heaters into an area with poor housing stock. In Costa Rica, students built a solar water heater for a local school. Keywords: applied learning, engineering education, experiential learning, service-learning.

scholarly journals Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) Skills among University Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3049-3058
Author(s):  
Muhammad Syawal Amran ◽  
Faridah Mydin Kutty ◽  
Shahlan Surat
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
University Students ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Creative Problem

scholarly journals Fostering Student Engagement: Creative Problem-Solving in Small Group Facilitations

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia L Samson
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Creative Problem

Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) can be a transformative teaching methodology that supports a dialogical learning atmosphere that can transcend the traditional classroom and inspire excellence in students by linking real life experiences with the curriculum. It supports a sense of inquiry that incorporates both experiential learning and the development of critical thinking skills. Incorporating active learning strategies in a way that transcends the classroom and sparks interest and passion for students is an important pedagogical ingredient for educators. The key question driving this study is how can CPS as a teaching method be used to motivate students and engage them in a process of active learning within the context of a social policy course? This study examines student engagement and motivation in a problem-centred approach to teaching and learning, and provides a concrete example of a CPS exercise couched in small group facilitations to support peer learning.

scholarly journals Theoretical Biomimetics: A biological design-driven concept for creative problem-solving as applied to the optimal sequencing of active learning techniques in educational theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
La Shun L. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Biological Design ◽  
Optimal Sequencing ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
Creative Problem

<p><span lang="EN-US">The article introduces the author’s concept of applying principles of biological design to drive creative problem-solving.  It provides a brief background of the field of Biomimetics, which serves as a context for the reader to appreciate how it began with an established field upon which he constructed and adapted his concept to apply to human-made intangibles.  A discussion of Theoretical Biomimetics specifies the differences between it and its predecessor.  The final section provides the opportunity to see Theoretical Biomimetics in detail applied to education theory to address a problem related to student learning in higher education and how best to establish optimized sequences to implement evidence-based active-learning techniques to fill a void in the literature demonstrating from nature what has worked.  The originality lies in the author taking a multidisciplinary approach to synergize a sequence of existing active-learning techniques and apply them to a new area in a new way. </span></p>

scholarly journals Flexibility Processes of Pre-service Teachers in Problem Solving with Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-255
Author(s):  
Wajeeh Daher ◽  
Ahlam Anabousy
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Mathematical Problem ◽  
Teacher College ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Mathematical Relationship ◽  
Creative Processes ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Creative Problem ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Academic Year

Researchers point at the need to study the creative processes of students in problem solving, as these may indicate how to encourage creative problem solving. The present research attempts to study, based on the heuristic framework of Polya, pre-service teachers' flexibility processes when they solve a mathematical problem with technology.  The research was held in a teacher college, where two second-year classes of 49 mathematics pre-service teachers (24 in the academic year 2017-2018 and 25 in the academic year 2018-2019) participated in the research. The pre-service teachers were requested to solve the halving-the-rectangle problem with technology, specifically with the GeoGebra software. The research results indicated that generally the participants, who performed flexibility processes, used a sequence of creativity processes: conjecturing, specialization, verifying consequences with technology and generalization.  The conjecturing process utilized mathematical relationship or inference from analogy, where the inference from analogy advanced gradually through solution modifications.

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