Creativity in Teaching and Teaching for Creativity in Engineering and Science in Higher Education—Revisiting Vygotsky’s Psychology of Art

Abstract

The article presents observational research conducted over four years which showed that creativity can be enhanced in all students using a variety of teaching methods and strategies. Strategies recommended promoting creativity including engaging students with activities that they enjoy and find intrinsically, encouraging students to verbally present and discuss their ideas with others, and providing opportunities for students to develop arguments based on evidence. Students should be encouraged to value empirical evidence and relevant knowledge and ideas, identify and address obstacles, learn about the lives and contributions of creative individuals throughout history, collaborate with others, take intellectual risks, and learn from mistakes in order to develop cognitive skills and self-efficacy. The research outlined here demonstrated that teaching critical analysis of art stimulated creativity in learners by facilitating emotional connections with the environment, encouraging a more holistic understanding of artworks and the creative processes behind them, and stimulating creative thinking skills and orientations that facilitated the development of intellectual potential.