Abstract
Creative thinking is an essential part of learning for sustainability, as recent studies indicate. Creativity enables the engineer to find solutions for the design of a new product or for the improvement of one already designed, to make it more sustainable. However, currently, engineering education does not usually assess academic performance in terms of creativity, and although interest in creative processes in engineering is growing, its implementation in the classroom is still scarce. In the present study, a creativity workshop was conducted in order to find multiple solutions to the problem posed, in accordance with divergent thinking. The workshop was based on a 3D CAD modelling activity, and the students needed to give different 3D design solutions starting from a two-dimensional shape. The participants were 72 engineering students from the engineering graphics subject in the degree in agricultural engineering and rural areas. Nine different creative components were evaluated. That way, not only was a generic measure of creativity obtained, but it was also possible to know the evolution of the student after the workshop for each of the components of creativity separately. The results of the workshop confirmed that creativity could be enhanced, and therefore, the learning process for sustainability can be improved in engineering.
Highlights
There are studies that indicate that creative thinking is an essential part of learning for sustainability [1,2]
Computer-aided design (CAD) is an information and communications technology (ICT) tool that can improve innovation because it allows the student to generate multiple and alternative ideas, and it has been used in educational programs to increase creativity [33,34]
The data obtained from creativity measurement were not a significant predictor of the engineering students’ average grades, which indicates that creativity is not stimulated or rewarded in the curriculum and cannot be a predictor of a students grade
Summary
There are studies that indicate that creative thinking is an essential part of learning for sustainability [1,2]. Computer-aided design (CAD) is an information and communications technology (ICT) tool that can improve innovation because it allows the student to generate multiple and alternative ideas, and it has been used in educational programs to increase creativity [33,34]. This workshop was previously conducted in several engineering degrees in order to develop spatial abilities and learn normalized views [35], and it proved to be a valid tool for those purposes. The Stella 3D workshop carried out with engineering students is described, along with the results obtained and the conclusions reached
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