Increasing creativity with unusual designs

Abstract

Creativity is important in synthesizing new ideas. For the engineering students, there are different methods to increase the level of creativity. Also, the unusual designs stimulate the students' creativity helping them to think innovatively. The assessment tool CEDA (Creative Engineering Design Assessment) is applied with minor modifications (CEDA-modified) to measure creativity in IE 101 Introduction to Engineering course. The CEDA score is modified by using AHP method to decrease the subjectivity of the assessment criteria. The study is applied to 49 industrial engineering students as an exam question. The question asked requires developing five advantages to an unusual design given. Male students developed more ideas compared to female students when they face with unusual design. More designs may be required to discuss through out the term and a proper term project that requires more design may be submitted to increase the success level.