Abstract
For nearly one hundred years, Design Thinking has led the way with theoretical and practical explorations of creativity and innovation. Proficiency in creativity is now considered the third-most important skill that workers need to possess in the twenty-first century (World Economic Forum). According to Sir Ken Robinson, Professor Emeritus of Education, “Creativity now is as important in Education as [language] literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” Recently, thanks to advances in neuroscience and psychology, a new interpretation of creativity is emerging, one that is holistic. To meet this opportunity, a holistic creativity course was developed that joins together design thinking and practices, cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology, and ancient practices for self-awareness to form a comprehensive foundation. This educational approach merges the trusted creative practices that students learn in their major fields of study with a system of twelve universal principles. This course was pilot-tested with juniors and seniors in the Fall of 2017 with students from industrial design, game art, film, animation, and fine arts programs. The results were both intriguing and promising. Based on feedback from students, focus groups, and clients, a textbook has been developed that functions as a self-guided holistic curriculum so that anyone can understand and utilize this approach. This paper reviews the research that inspired the development of this system, shares the results of teaching the pilot class, and discusses the approach that creativity education needs to follow going forward.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Innovation, Pedagogy, Learning, Holistic, Experiential, Design Thinking, Creativity
