Can Pedagogical Strategies Affect Students’ Creativity? Testing a Choice-Based Approach to Design and Problem-Solving in Technology, Design, and Engineering Education

Linear models for design and problem solving processes serve as the current paradigm for classroom practice in the United States. However, the need for alternative pedagogies has been identified in the research literature and national standards documents. Two design and problemsolving instructional approaches were explored in this study: the DEAL method (Define/Explore/Anticipate/Look back) and the choice-based approach, a nonlinear, studentdriven method. Creative outcomes resulting from student projects developed under DEAL and choice-based conditions were measured and compared in this study involving 132 middle school students. Seventy-two student projects were developed using video game design software, thirtysix for each instructional method. They were completed with students opting to work alone or in pairs. The Consensual Assessment Technique was then employed using seven adult raters to compare outcomes of student work resulting from the contrasting pedagogies. Comparisons of means determined no significant difference in creativity scores between the choice-based and DEAL groups. Factor analysis suggested the existence of a creativity cluster comprising creativity and the three associated items, novel idea, novel use of materials, and complexity. Results demonstrated that creativity was assessed independently from technical strength items and from items related to project aesthetics. Inter-rater reliability was high for all 12 items measured, supporting an operational definition of creativity on which instructional objectives can be built. The results of this research are consistent with those of earlier studies in determining that creativity can reliably be assessed in classroom problem-solving activities. Further application in K-12 Engineering and Technology classrooms is needed in order to draw further pedagogical conclusions as well as to develop instructional strategies for use by classroom teachers.