Assessing creative thinking in design-based learning

Infusing creative thinking competence through the design process of authentic projects requires not only changing the teaching methods and learning environment, but also adopting new assessment methods, such as portfolio assessment. The participants in this study were 128 high school pupils who have studied MECHATRONICS from 10th to 12th grades (16–18 years old). By the end of 12th grade, the pupils had created 57 authentic projects. The intervention program had two parts: first, the pupils documented their project according to a creative design process that had been introduced to them. Second, the projects were assessed according to a creative thinking scale. This scale was designed to assist pupils in documenting the design process. It could be used as a guideline for teachers and pupils during the course of the project. The research examined pupils’ performance during project-based learning. The research tools included: observations of class activities, portfolio assessment, and external matriculation assessment. The findings show first that pupils learned to document their design process. Second, pupils’ projects demonstrated various levels of creative thinking skill. Evidences for high-level documentation of the projects were found in pupils’ portfolios. On the other hand, there is much to be learned about documenting teamwork and pupils’ reflection. This research could assist researchers and teachers who are interested in assessing engineering education outcomes.     

动漫推文化创意产业迎接创意新时代

平扳电脑、智慧电话的出现,引起全球各地人才撰写创意应用程式的热潮。创意产品大行其道,单是喝茶用的杯子便能找到不同形式的产品;电脑动画也广泛应用在电影制作上,可以,创意时代真的来了!与此同时,一个新名字——“文化创意产业”不断在各国政府的经济政策中出现。     

Exploring the impact of design thinking tool among design undergraduates: a study on creative skills and motivation to think creatively

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - This paper exploring the impact of the utilization of Design Thinking tool in facilitating the development of a group of design...     

A model of creative design process for fostering creativity of students in design education

Creativity, which is concerned with problem solving, is essential if we are to generate new solutions to the massive and complex problems in the unknown future. Our next generation needs an educational platform where they can be taught to possess creativity. Design education is such a way to foster students’ creativity. Therefore, it is essential to understand the creative design process and its routine in order to show how students can generate creative output and how teachers can guide students in the design process. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to investigate the creative design process as it is employed in producing creative designs, and further recommend how students can practise and learn to be creative based on the model process developed in this paper. The model is expected to provide a guideline for teachers to facilitate students along the creative thinking process.     

Who's winning the information revolution

The company of the future is already here, formed by the technological ferment that is transforming all of business. These examples are powerhouses.     

从“制造之都”迈向“创意之都” 扬州毛绒玩具要走文化创意型产业道路

自2006年,扬州市维扬区获得中国轻工业联合会、中国礼仪用品工业协会共同颁发的＂中国毛绒玩具礼品之都＂称号,扬州已分别以＂行业品牌、人才设计、动漫研发、文化创意＂主题,成功举办了四届毛绒玩具节,为海内外客商和玩具礼品业界人士提供交流合作的平台,广泛开展产品展览、贸易洽谈、投资合作等活动,同时依托扬州市文化创意产业园,整合创意资源,彰显产业特色,把维扬加速打造成为创意产业新高地,推动玩具礼品产业的创新、提升和发展。     

DLP技术掀起显示技术革命

您知道奥斯卡奖、艾米奖等世界知名奖项的颁奖典礼采用什么显示技术吗,您知道在2004年希腊雅典奥运会中无所不在的显示技术又是什么吗?也许您会说是LCD(液晶)显示技术,或者PDP(等离子)显示技术,然而,这次您却错了.虽然没有液晶显示和等离子显示技术那样耳熟能详,DLP(数字光源处理)技术却在上述活动中大出风头.它在商用与家用投影仪、大屏幕高清电视、专业用途投影仪和数字影院市场的应用日趋增加,大有掀起显示技术革命之势.     

INTELSAT and the digital communications revolution

The digital communications revolution may have begun in 1832 with the Morse telegraph, but it is still a significant movement. It should be realized that digital innovations and increasing transmission efficiencies are simply picking up speed with age. This article traces the development of digital communications, examines the continuing relationship between source rate and transmission rate requirements, points to the need for universality of standards and compatible transmission techniques, and describes the role of INTELSAT within the goal of global communications provision.     

玩具产业中的创意知识产权管理

长期以来,人们习惯于对资产和资金进行管理规划,却往往忽视了对于知识产权这种无形资产的协调管理。朱雪忠教授在其主编的《知识产权管理》一书中提出,知识产权管理是指政府机构、高校、科研院所、企业或者其他组织等主体计划、组织、协调和控制知识产权相关工作．并使其发展符合组织目标的过程,是协调知识产权实务的宏观调控和微观操作活动的总和。     

The design and development of creative instructional materials: the role of domain familiarity for creative solutions

The design and development processes of instructional materials might be considered simple and clear because the pre-established instructional goals can lead the way. However, in practice, there are lots of issues to be considered during these processes. The quality of the material, appropriate visual design, usability, and acceptable amount of cognitive load are some of these issues. On the other hand, an instructional material needs to be as original as possible. In this study, we focused on the creativity of the instructional materials designed and developed by second year students from the Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT) department. We divided students into two groups: (1) CEIT students designing and developing materials about Information Technology (IT); (2) CEIT students designing and developing materials about Math. The main aim of this study is to understand how CEIT students’ instructional materials differ when they design and develop materials, which are out of their field of experience. In other words, we tried to compare how the creativity of materials change when students create materials with familiar domain (IT) in comparison to unfamiliar domain (Math). Students worked on ten instructional materials such as digital story, animation, and worksheet for 14 weeks. The materials of students were evaluated in terms of creativity, and then they were interviewed. The students worked in groups of 4–5, and during the material development period, we as researchers observed and took notes about the whole process. The findings indicated that materials developed in familiar domain were higher in creativity than those of the unfamiliar. Students’ explanations of creativity and their evaluations about the process helped us to understand the reasons of the produced materials’ creativeness. Technical skills, authentic contributions, material type, and the boundaries of the content or familiarity were found as the primary factors affecting the design and development of creative instructional materials.     

'Biological' revolution and strategies for innovation in pharmaceutical companies

Fundamental advances in the life sciences are exerting a profound influence on the structure of the pharmaceutical industry and the strategies of drug companies. The 'biological' revolution makes it possible to apply a scientific method to drug research. This paper argues that pharmaceutical companies can take advantage of the new method only if they encourage 'openness' of their research. We also offer a framework to explain why innovations in this industry increasingly result from networks of agents with complementary skills and resources. Greater use of scientific knowledge implies that important information for innovation can be expressed in relatively general and universal forms. This eases information exchange, and encourages specialisation and division of labour in drug R&D and marketing. Finally, the possibility of a division of labour in innovation opens new opportunities for medium-sized national pharmaceutical firms in Europe. Provided that they found their strategies on high-quality research in specialised niches, they can set up alliances with partners that possess complementary knowledge, and supply resources for clinical development and international marketing.     

创意“给力”玩具——2011年创意玩具产业展望

当下的玩具产业竞争已逐渐达到了白热化的程度,众多品牌均在寻求差异化的竞争路线,有些瞄准高端市场,有些坚持传统路线,有些潜心独辟蹊径,有些主打面向大众………曾经是孩子童年中最好伙伴的玩具,如今的发展早已突破了儿童的界限,在成年人中形成了一种新的潮流。从特征上分析,玩具已成为了创意产业的一个重要组成部分。     

Electronic funds transfer: The creeping revolution

The much heralded ‘banking revolution’ has hitherto made steady rather than spectacular progress. This article focuses on the vanguard of the revolution, electronic funds transfer (EFT) and the growth and potential of automated clearing houses, automation in the branch and at point of sale, banking in the home, and for the corporate customer worldwide. While EFT developments will continue, the use of cash and the paper flow generated by cheques will still play an important role in banking systems.     

The green revolution in Nigeria: Prospects for agricultural development

This article considers the application of green revolution strategies in Nigeria. The authors discuss the background issues and the genesis of the green revolution before turning to the specific experiences of countries in Indo-Pakistan. The prospects for accelerated agricultural development in Nigeria brought about by green revolution technologies is considered. The authors conclude that the case of Nigeria is conceptually different to that of Asian countries but, with careful planning, green revolution technologies can contribute to sustained agricultural development in Nigeria.