Extracurricular Fieldtrips to Theme Parks to Teach Creativity and Innovation

Abstract

The United States National Academy of Engineering produced its seminal work, The Engineer of 2020 -Visions of Engineering in the New Century, to prepare industrial, governmental, and academic institutions for the future of engineering. The authors of the report state, "Emphasis on the creative process will allow more effective leadership in the development and application of next-generation technologies to problems of the future. " In 2011" In , 2012 undergraduates from Valparaiso University participated in a four-day off-site extracurricular fieldtrip focused on creativity, innovation, teamwork, and leading the creative process. The course was taught by members of the engineering faculty and included on-location sessions and tours led by employees and cast members from an external training organization. Pre-and postcourse surveys identify a significant improvement in the students' understanding of the roles of leadership, communication, and teamwork in the creative process. In an attempt to determine how much the students benefitted from the fieldtrips, a full class dedicated to the creative process was taught along with the trip in 2014. Quantitatively, students who participated in only the fieldtrips showed improvements similar to those who also participated in the full class. However, additional qualitative results indicate that students who participated in the full course with a fieldtrip experience had higher levels of confidence and affinity for the program.