Three types of integrated course designs for using mobile technologies to support creativity in higher education

Abstract

Research shows a disconnection between creativity and education. In addition, studies rarely describe how instructors in higher education make use of mobile devices to foster student creativity. In order to obtain deeper knowledge of teaching practices, instructors in higher education were interviewed and 24 courses were analyzed using the constitutive elements of integrated course designs: teaching goals, learning activities, assessments, teacher-student interaction, and integration of mobile devices. The results show that instructors do not explicitly design for student creativity. However, an in-depth analysis that applied the Creativity Facets approach illustrates three types of implicitly integrated creativity that enhance meaningful learning with mobile technologies. The three design types are (a) Design of Interlinked Places, (b) Connected Communication Design, and (c) Process Design.