Creative Thinking Activities & Assessments for Use in Any Course to Grow Students' Creativity

Abstract

First-year students at NC State University who take the course Critical & Creative Thinking in the Life Sciences work in small groups of four throughout the semester to solve problems, work through case studies, and design a project.  A common thread found throughout the course with the lens of life science, the scientific method, and doing science, is creative thinking.  In the course, scientific creative thinking is discussed, intellectual standards used, and various activities employed to grow students’ creative thinking over the semester.  A pre and post-semester survey, quiz, and creative assessment are given to students to measure gains.  Both the format of the course and the activities used will be provided in this session.  Additionally, a brief overview of the results found over the past 2 years will be provided along with patterns detected with demographics and intended majors.