Enhancement of creative thinking and creative abilities in art and design students at the Central University of Technology, Free State

Abstract

Introduction: Future civilisations hinge upon the creative capabilities of young people, therefore creativity should be fostered from a young age. Because creative people think in unconventional ways and challenge conventional thinking, they are able to solve complex problems and thus could make a significant contribution to the 21st century world-of-work. It is widely accepted that there exists a “creativity gap” amongst students, because of social, environmental, and educational experiences. Also, creativity skills vary extensively amongst entry level students in the department of Design and Studio Art at the Central University of Technology, Free State. Aim: This study was thus undertaken to determine the potential to implement a Creativity Workshop to stimulate the emergence of creativity amongst a Test group of entry level students in Art and Design. Therefore, for this study the hypothesis that was tested is: A creativity workshop will enhance creative skills amongst entry level University art and design students. Methods: The success of the Creativity Workshop was assessed by measuring creative skills through a Creativity Test that was implemented in a Test group of students (n = 24) and compared with a Control group of students (n = 30). Twenty-nine Creativity sub-domains were identified and grouped into four creativity domains (Diverse Thinking, Creative Strengths, Innovation Skills, and Practical Skills). The Creativity Workshop Instrument addressed the respective creativity skills in 19 different activities probing students for written and/or drawing responses. The Creativity Test Instrument comprised of 17 activities addressing the different Creativity sub-domains of the four Creativity domains. Results: A Student’s t-test revealed that the overall performances of the two groups of students were the same, indicating that the Creativity Workshop did not make a significant difference to the overall creativity performances of the Test group of students, thus the results did not support the hypothesis at an α = 0.05. However, the mean score of the Test group (±430) was notably better than that of the Control group (±390). In contrast, t-tests revealed that the Workshop impacted significantly on the performances of the Test group in two of the four Creativity domains (Creative Strengths and Practical-Skills), as well as on three of the 12 sub-domains (Synthesis of Incomplete figures, Internal Visualisation, Extending or Breaking of Boundaries) of the Creative Strengths domain, which focuses on the ability to use imagination to generate new ideas from a unique perspective in image development. This workshop thus improved students’ abilities to combine two or more incomplete figures to visualise beyond exteriors and focus on the internal, as well as to extend lines beyond boundaries. The impact of the Creativity Workshop could also be recognised in two of the four activity types of the Creativity Test. The Test group outperformed the Control group in the activities, Image Development and Object Repetition. For two of the 17 activities of the Creativity Test, significant differences were established between the Test group and the Control group. In the activity Adding Details to Medium Blocks, the Test group outperformed the Control group by adding additional details to the figures in the boxes, thereby creating unique pictures. Similarly, the Test group outperformed the Control group in the activity of Using cut out Shape for Design, by pasting a cut-out shape into a blank space and then completing an imagined picture where the cut-out is part of. Conclusion: The Creativity Workshop made a substantial contribution to the enhancement of creative and innovative skills in the Test group. In particular, students’ imaginations came to the forefront, by showing their ability to apply imaginary thoughts when conceiving and developing images. Thus, the outcome of this study strongly suggests that students that were exposed to the Creativity Workshop were able to make mental leaps away from the obvious and the commonplace.