Enhancing Creative Thinking in STEM with 3D CAD Modelling

Abstract

Creative thinking is an essential part of learning for sustainability, as recent studies indicate. Creativity enables the engineer to find solutions for the design of a new product or for the improvement of one already designed, to make it more sustainable. However, currently, engineering education does not usually assess academic performance in terms of creativity, and although interest in creative processes in engineering is growing, its implementation in the classroom is still scarce. In the present study, a creativity workshop was conducted in order to find multiple solutions to the problem posed, in accordance with divergent thinking. The workshop was based on a 3D CAD modelling activity, and the students needed to give different 3D design solutions starting from a two-dimensional shape. The participants were 72 engineering students from the engineering graphics subject in the degree in agricultural engineering and rural areas. Nine different creative components were evaluated. That way, not only was a generic measure of creativity obtained, but it was also possible to know the evolution of the student after the workshop for each of the components of creativity separately. The results of the workshop confirmed that creativity could be enhanced, and therefore, the learning process for sustainability can be improved in engineering.

Students’ Innovation in Education for Sustainable Development—A Longitudinal Study on Interdisciplinary vs. Monodisciplinary Learning

“…Students' creativity and innovation are still unemployed resources in HESD [1,9]. Few studies have investigated the status quo of students' creativity within the field of SD [2,3] or their creativity skill development through HESD [4][5][6] or evaluated educational settings regarding their potential to enhance creativity in HESD [7][8][9]. However, students' innovation has so far been neglected.…”

“…Khandakar, Chowdhury, Gonzales, Touati, Emadi, and Ayari [5] studied electrical engineering students participating in a multi-course interdisciplinary project-based learning ESD approach and found that almost all students were strongly convinced that their participation enhanced their creativity. Carbonell-Carrera, Saorin, Melian-Diaz, and Torre-Cantero [6] evaluated a creativity ESD workshop by analyzing engineering students' creative skill development with a preand post-test of performance in the individual task of solving a geometrical problem in sustainable modeling. The results indicate significant gains in the following creativity skills: abreaction, originality, figurative expansion, expressive richness, and graphic skill.…”

Students' Project Competency within the Framework of STEM Education

“…This format of educational work determines the amount of mastered content. It means that information becomes less, but the quality of its "appropriation" by the students' changes [4,15,23].…”

Formation of IT Competences of Future Mechanical Engineers

“…CAD 3D modeling tasks are successfully used to develop student creativity [20]. Students early familiarity with 3D CAD technology will help them better master the design skills they will need in a professional career [21].…”