The Creative Process and Emotions of Pupils in a Training Context with a Design Project

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Pedagogy
• Didactics

Background:

• Research on creativity is vital for 21st-century skills but often lacks real-world educational context.
• Understanding the creative process in pupils is essential for effective teaching and learning.
• Existing studies on creativity are often not situated within authentic classroom environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model and understand the creative process in pupils within a real educational setting.
• To identify the stages and multivariate factors influencing creativity during object design.
• To provide ecological validity to creativity research by observing it in a genuine training context.

Main Methods:

• Observation of 22 pupils creating a water fountain in a Creative and Manual Activities class.
• Utilizing a Creative Process Report Diary to document stages and multivariate factors (cognitive, conative, emotional, environmental).
• Focusing on psychology, didactics, and pedagogy within the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Main Results:

• Identification of the most frequent stages and influencing factors observed during the creative process.
• Development of a model illustrating stage transitions and the role of multivariate factors.
• Empirical data on pupils' actual creative behaviors in a learning context.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a model for understanding the creative process in educational settings.
• Multivariate factors significantly influence different stages of pupil creativity.
• Findings offer valuable insights for educators aiming to foster creativity and address 21st-century societal needs.