Creativity and Life Satisfaction in Spanish University Students. Effects of an Emotionally Positive and Creative Program

There is an increasing demand by society that university students demonstrate competitive skills to enable them to achieve greater success when entering the workplace. Creativity and life satisfaction correlate positively with academic performance, productivity, and excellence in the working environment. The presence of creativity and emotional intelligence in the curriculum and teaching methods in Spanish universities, however, is surprisingly lacking. Studies that examine gender differences in these variables provide conflicting results. The purpose of our research is to analyse the changes produced in both creativity and life satisfaction in university students by a positive emotional and creative intervention and explore individual differences by gender. The methodology used was a quasi-experimental pre- test/post- test design with experimental/control groups. Three hundred university students (23% men and 77% women) from the Community of Madrid (Spain) completed three exercises that evaluated creativity and life satisfaction. The results show significantly higher results in creativity and life satisfaction in women, who continued to achieve high results after the intervention. Finally, we discuss the need for emotional and creative education in universities and focus on the employability and the guarantee of equal opportunities through the development of these competencies.

Professional training of students of creative professions : methodological aspect

One of the important problems of training competitive specialists in creative professions is the theoretical substantiation and practical implementation of the idea of integrating science and technology, education and production, searching on this basis for innovative approaches to creative education. Taking this into account, the problem of integrating knowledge in higher education acquires significance and has a number of advantages. The university is faced with the task of providing students with a holistic, scientific, flexible system of knowledge, which is modified depending on the profile and purpose of each type of educational institution. One of the most effective ways to achieve this goal is to integrate the content, forms and methods of teaching into the educational process.

Peculiarities of personality formation and creative education of children through folk dance

The article emphasizes that today the priority is given to the spiritual, moral and creative education of children of primary school age. The process of forming a highly moral personality occurs, on the one hand, in the process of family upbringing, on the other, in the course of the educational process. Cultural traditions and folk art contribute to the formation and development of personality. Folk dance, being an important choreographic direction, is one of the means that support socio-cultural traditions and folk art in society. Folk dance as a means of personality formation and creative education of children performs a number of specific functions: aesthetic, ethnocultural, self-control, self-education, self-organization, self-esteem, physical activity. These functions contribute to the development of the creative abilities of the personality of children of primary school age; arouse interest in the specifics of folk culture; provide an opportunity for a constructive release of energy; satisfy the personal needs of children for a holiday, a show, a game.

Virtual Construction Kits

The “Studio of art designing” develops and publishes electronic creative education programs for children and young people. All virtual kits represent miniature programs each designed for a small but clear task. The main purpose of each construction kit is to reveal the meaning of some aspect of the creative process. Virtual construction kits suggest the user making their own work of art. However, this creative process is done with the help of means and methods that develop the user’s thinking. Thus, the user gets to know this phenomenon “from the inside.” Virtual kits have found application in textbooks for a comprehensive school and as an accompaniment to museum projects. Projects related to the Russian Avant-Garde, antique vase-painting, steampunk, infographics, animation, “laterna magica” and visual storytelling are used in many secondary schools and museums in Russia.

A overview of the research on the effects of ICTs on collaborative learning

The purpose of this research is to shed light on prevalent tendencies in student interactions during collaborative learning. Social networking, in particular, is seen as a means of constructing a contemporary educational reality that encourages more proactive and constructive learning activities. Emerging technology is presently mostly employed in the classroom, with little contribution to expected advancements in creative education. By understanding how information technology can drive many types of creativity and generate revenue, students may develop in-depth experience and capabilities. The question was how to incorporate interactive learning in such a way that soft talents might be developed.

Multifactorial approach to preparing Russian young people for a future profession

This article examines the theory and practice of a multi-level system of continuous innovative education. The pedagogical system of multilevel continuous creative education is considered in detail, and sufficient creative pedagogical methods are put forward for the formation of creative thinking and the development of students' creative abilities. Creative approach provides teachers and students with intellectual tools for the formation of creative systems thinking, teaches them to look at the world systematically and manage thought processes. Innovative teaching methods in the continuous formation of a multilevel system of creative thinking provide the basic principles of teaching by changing the structure of the lessons and implementing their original content. Using them, it is possible to significantly accelerate the solution of a pressing problem in Russia: formation of a creative personality of students.