Creative capabilities in technological design
Abstract
The focus of this research was the study of student creative capabilities in an electrical and computer engineering technology capstone design project. The problem explored was the perceived gap between six creative capabilities students brought to bear when approaching an open-ended design project, including ideational ability, cognitive style, motivational orientation, personality traits and behaviors, learning style and domain-specific knowledge, and the level of creativity demonstrated in the products and ideas generated through the design process, as measured by two faculty-derived assessments. Few elements of creative capabilities were linked to measures of creative performance, and links that were found were often in a direction not supported by confluence theories of creativity. The results of the study point to the need for a major effort to be mounted to build a model framework within which to ground efforts to enhance the creative skills, behaviors and attitudes of relevance in the technological design process. Given the dearth of research on the role of creative capabilities in engineering technology, there remain many unanswered questions, but a multi-tiered approach that focuses on the building of human assets relating to creativity in design is a worthwhile endeavor.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Dyrenfurth, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Industrial arts education|Engineering|Industrial engineering
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