When Theater Comes to Engineering Design: Oh How Creative They Can Be.

Area of Science:

• Engineering Education
• Biomedical Engineering
• Creative Studies

Background:

• The creative process is vital for scientific and technological advancement.
• Engineering education often lacks explicit creativity training.
• Active learning methods from theater may enhance engineering creativity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of theater-based creativity training on bioengineering students' creative self-efficacy.
• To assess changes in motivation and anxiety related to engineering design.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving senior bioengineering capstone design students.
• Self-selected control and experimental groups.
• Experimental group received weekly creativity training using theater methods for one semester.
• Engineering design self-efficacy was measured using validated surveys before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

• The experimental group showed a greater than twofold increase in creative self-efficacy compared to the control group.
• Students in the experimental group reported increased motivation and decreased anxiety in engineering design tasks.
• The differences between groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Implementing a "curriculum of creativity" using theater methods can significantly improve engineering students' creative self-efficacy.
• This approach holds potential for enhancing engineering education by fostering creativity.
• Theater-based methods offer a viable strategy to boost innovation in STEM fields.