This study examined the relationship between creative school climate and intrinsic motivation. Estonian (N = 910) and Russian (N = 491) secondary school students were compared, in order to highlight possible differences that may arise from cultural background. In comparison, Estonia is a more individualistic society, and Russia a more collectivistic society. The results demonstrated that the Estonian students had higher intrinsic motivation on one of two subscales, Learning Curiosity, whereas the Russian students had higher extrinsic motivation (both subscales) and higher scores for the other intrinsic subscale, Task Difficulty. The results also showed that there were differences in how school climate factors influenced students’ motivational orientation. In the Estonian sample, the school climate was related to intrinsic motivation, whereas in the Russian sample, it was related to both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. An implication of the study is that there is cultural variation in how school climate factors influence students’ motivation, something which needs to be taken into consideration when building creativity-supportive schools. (Less)
This paper argues that as students are increasingly digitally tethered to powerful, ‘always on’ mobile devices, new models of engagement and creative approaches to teaching and learning in engineering are required. Therefore, this paper explores the use of gamification and problem-based learning in an educational setting to increase student engagement and creativity. This paper provides a practical example of using game mechanics and demonstrates how a commercial game engine, in this case, Unity3D, can be used to create simulations to teach advanced electronic and electrical circuit theory. The Circuit Warz project is introduced and it is used to illustrate the ways in which engineering education might be reimagined to create engaging student learning experiences that are problem-centered and pedagogically sound.
A workshop was designed to teach professional adults a set of creativity (problem finding and idea generation) and emotional intelligence (using emotions to facilitate thinking and understanding emotions) skills through engagement with the visual arts. Skills were developed and practiced over eight sessions and applied to real-life problems identified by participants. After participating in the workshop, participants showed more positive attitudes towards creativity, emotional intelligence, and art appreciation. Participants reported higher self-perceived creative and emotion skills and expressed high satisfaction with the workshop.
This paper reports on the development and initial validation of a workshop teaching emotion skills (perceiving, using and understanding emotions) and creativity skills (problem finding and idea generation) through engagement with the visual arts to children ages 6-12 years old. After completing the six-session workshop, children showed greater knowledge of how emotions can be used to facilitate thinking and behavior in everyday life scenarios, and reported being less likely to settle on their first idea when making art. Children positively evaluated their experiences in the workshop and indicated interest in similar art-based learning opportunities in the future.
