Creative by DesignUsing Engineering Design and Art to Nurture Creativity

in STEM

Larry G. RichardsSusan K. Donohue

Christine G. Schnittka (Auburn University)9 June 2012

© 2012, VMSEEI

What We’ll Do Today

• Getting our “creative” on• What is creativity?• How do you see intelligence? Talent?

• Carol Dweck’s Mindset• Engineering design process models• STEAM to success!• Closing discussion

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Warm Up!

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• You may have done the exercise “What can I do with this brick?”

• Let’s turn it around: What CAN’T you do with this brick?

www.wickes.co.uk

Creativity

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• Divergent• Considered by most to be “creative thinking”• Think broadly• Develop many alternatives

• Convergent• Narrow a broad set of alternatives to a

feasible set of solutions• And, for scientific creativity, logical thinking

• Used interchangeably with “innovation” and “problem solving”

• Roles of curiosity and expertise

Carol Dweck’s Mindset

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After Dweck, 1986, p. 1041

Achievement Goals and Achievement Behavior

Theory of Intelligence

Goal OrientationConfidence in Present Ability

Behavior Pattern

   

Entity Theory PerformanceHigh

Mastery oriented

(Intelligence is fixed) (Gain/avoid judgments

High persistence

    of competence)Low

Helpless

        Low persistence

   

Incremental Theory Learning/MasteryHigh OR Low

Mastery oriented

(Intelligence is malleable) (Increase competence)

High persistence

Engineering Design Process Models

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1. Identify the need or

problem

6. Test and evaluate

7. Communicate the solution(s)

4. Select the best possible

solution(s)

5. Construct prototype(s)

2. Research the need or

problem

8. Redesign

3. Develop possible solutions

Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, October 2006, page 84

Engineering Design Process Models

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Identify Problem

Brainstorm

Develop the Better Ideas

Build Iterate

(as needed)

Test

Courtesy R. Reid Bailey

STEAM to Success!

8Beautifulcoolwallpapers.wordpress.com, DickBlick.com, and minusspace.com

Scribblebot

Kaleidoscope

KineticSculpture

Hoos’ EYE ETK

HoverHoos andUnder Pressure ETKs

Come Sail Away andAgainst the Wind ETKs

What Can I Do in My Classroom?

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• Encourage discovery learning• Keep a cache of “found items”• Have students brainstorm repurposing them

• Encourage mastery learning• Create a penalty-free failure zone

• We learn from what we can’t do as well as what we can do!

• Promote design-build-test• Use both top-down and bottom-up approaches• Conduct both structured and unstructured

creativity activities and exercises

Engineering Teaching Kits

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Questions / Comments?

Thank you!

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