Incorporating STEAM activities into creativity training in higher education

• Published in: Thinking skills and creativity Vol. 50; p. 101395
• Main Authors: Gu, Xiaojing, Tong, Dandan, Shi, Peiqi, Zou, Yuchen, Yuan, Han, Chen, Chen, Zhao, Guoqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2023
• Subjects: Creative self-efficacy; Creativity; Creativity training; Higher education; STEAM; Creativity training; STEAM; Creative self-efficacy; Higher education; Creativity
• ISSN: 1871-1871
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101395

•A creativity training course was developed for university students.•STEAM activities were incorporated to practice the creative thinking skills.•The training significantly enhanced university students’ creative abilities.•The training led to a trend of increase in university students’ creative self-efficacy. In this fast-paced world, we are constantly required to be adaptive and creative. In particular, creative ability is needed to solve problems in various situations. The current study aimed to develop a creativity training course for university students in which STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) activities were incorporated to practice and strengthen the creative thinking skills required across domains. 80 university students were recruited for the study. Before and after the training course (duration = 4 months), participants’ creativity was measured in terms of both creative abilities and creative self-efficacy. Using a pre-posttest between-subjects design, the results showed significant improvements in tasks measuring participants’ creative abilities after the training, and the increase was significantly higher than in the control group. In addition, the creativity training group tended to improve their creative self-efficacy. The current findings suggest that creativity training integrating STEAM activities could be an effective approach to foster creativity. The implications for developing effective creativity training with (in) STEAM activities are discussed.