Outside the Box

Abstract

Can creativity be taught? Multiple sources attest that the business community values creativity in potential new hires, but a signature pedagogy of teaching for creativity in business classes has not yet emerged. To contribute to a body of evidence-based practice, this study assessed the impact of several in-class activities that were deployed among undergraduate business students to see if these enhanced their creative problem-solving abilities, as assessed by pre- and post-intervention measures. The results were moderately encouraging and suggest domain-specific teaching and learning strategies. Further, the results offer encouragement to all instructors, irrespective of any prior experience with creativity-enhancing efforts.

Undergraduate Students' Critical Evaluations of University Education

“…Undergraduate students in particular criticized the teaching practices at university, followed by the dimensions of innovation and creativity and free thought and inquiry. As Miller, Cruz, and Kelley (2021) note, teaching and learning practices and creativity are interrelated. According to them, teaching and learning strategies need to be reorganized for creativity to occur.…”

Social-venture planning: liberal arts programme to enhance undergraduates’ creative problem-solving competency / La planificación de emprendimiento social: un programa de artes liberales para fomentar las competencias de resolución creativa de problemas de los estudiantes universitarios

“…In the field of structural engineering, for example, McCrum (2016) implemented a combination of active learning and conceptual structuring techniques to strengthen CPS skills, particularly in the realm of effective architectural communication. In addition, Miller et al (2021) ventured into the business domain, where they integrated creative-thinking methodologies into undergraduate courses to bolster CPS proficiencies. Empirical data support the efficacy of these educational interventions.…”

“…En el campo de la ingeniería de estructuras, por ejemplo, McCrum (2016) llevó a cabo una combinación de aprendizaje activo y técnicas de estructuración conceptual orientadas a reforzar las habilidades de RCP, especialmente en el área de la comunicación arquitectónica efectiva. Asimismo, Miller et al (2021) se aventuraron en el ámbito empresarial, donde incluyeron metodologías de pensamiento creativo en los cursos de grado para mejorar las capacidades de RCP. Los datos empíricos corroboran la eficacia de estas intervenciones educativas.…”