Investigation of creativity fostering and critical thinking assessment approaches in engineering education

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School of Engineering | Doctoral thesis (article-based) | Defence date: 2025-06-13
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Authors

Date

2025

Department

Energia- ja konetekniikan laitos
Department of Energy and Mechanical Engineering

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Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

154 + app. 47

Series

Aalto University publication series Doctoral Theses, 105/2025

Abstract

The skills that are currently in high demand in the industry include creativity and critical thinking. Creativity is important for thinking outside the box, while critical thinking helps refine and evaluate solutions to problems. Aalto University contributed to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) project on these skills. The author contributed to the OECD’s project through research conducted at the university and presented in the dissertation. In this dissertation, creativity research focuses on 1) the effect of creativity mechanisms on students at a lesson level, 2) the impact of a multidisciplinary project course at the course level, and 3) exploring the link between creativity and students’ curiosity, perseverance, and diligence. The CT research focused on identifying common CT assessment methods, approaches, and challenges that require further investigation, as CT assessment is underdeveloped in engineering education. The research found that 1) creativity mechanisms enhanced students' creativity at a lesson level, while 2) the multidisciplinary project course improved creativity in a written task but not in a drawing task. Students’ curiosity positively correlated with creativity, perseverance negatively correlated, and diligence did not correlate with creativity, supporting and contradicting prior findings. In CT, assessment approaches from 80 articles from the years 2010-2023 are identified and mapped against recognized CT skills. Three primary CT assessment goals were identified: 1) understanding and identifying CT, 2) demonstrating CT, and 3) measuring changes in CT, mainly assessed with either surveys or customized assessment approaches. Key findings at the lesson and course levels support integrating creativity-enhancing strategies in engineering education. Creativity can take several forms, and options to represent creativity in various forms need to be encouraged in engineering education. Identified CT definitions and assessment approaches indicate significant variations in CT skill perception, and this results in CT being treated as a single skill instead of a set of skills or assessment of only limited skills, such as Analysis or Interpretation. The research also found that CT can take the shape of a discipline-specific skill or a neutral skill. Several opportunities for further research are also presented, such as developing validated, reliable, and scalable fostering and assessment approaches for creativity and critical thinking.

Description

Supervising professor

Hölttä-Otto, Katja, Prof., Melbourne University, Australia

Thesis advisor

Hölttä-Otto, Katja, Prof., Melbourne University, Australia

Keywords

creativity, critical thinking, product design, engineering education

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Julkaisun ISBN-tunnuksessa on kirjoitusvirhe.
There is a typo in the ISBN of the publication.

Parts

  • [Publication 1]: Deo, S, Hölttä-Otto, K, Bhalerao, Y, & Malge, A. "Engineering Design Concept Generation: The Effect of Concept Combination and Classification." Proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. 16th International Conference on Design Education. Anaheim, California, USA. August 18–21, 2019. V003T04A014. ASME.
    DOI: 10.1115/DETC2019-97819 View at publisher
  • [Publication 2]: Deo, S, Hölttä-Otto, K, & Filz, GH. "Creativity and Engineering Education: Assessing the Impact of a Multidisciplinary Project Course on Engineering Students’ Creativity." Proceedings of the ASME 2020 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Volume 3: 17th International Conference on Design Education (DEC). Virtual, Online. August 17–19, 2020. V003T03A008.
    DOI: 10.1115/DETC2020-22250 View at publisher
  • [Publication 3]: Deo, S., Blej, A., Kirjavainen, S., and Hölttä-Otto, K. (July 19, 2021). "Idea Generation Mechanisms: Comparing the Influence of Classification, Combination, Building on Others, and Stimulation Mechanisms on Ideation Effectiveness." ASME. Journal of Mechanical Design. December 2021; 143(12): 121403.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-2021112410424
    DOI: 10.1115/1.4051239 View at publisher
  • [Publication 4]: Deo, S., & Malge, A. (2022). Understanding engineering students’ perceptions of their curiosity, diligence, and perseverance and assessing its impact on their creativity. CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 6(2), 28–40.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202308014624
    DOI: 10.23726/cij.2022.1398 View at publisher
  • [Publication 5]: Deo, S., and Hölttä-Otto, K. (2024). "Critical thinking assessment in engineering education: A Scopus-based literature review." ASME. J. Mech. Des. 146(7).
    DOI: 10.1115/1.4064275 View at publisher

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https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-64-2571-9

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