Creative Confidence and the learning sciences

Research-based Design Principles

This course was designed to develop Creative Confidence. It focuses on the following the areas of the learning sciences:

• Creativity
• Self-efficacy
• Design thinking as a cognitive strategy
• Gender equity

Why Creative Confidence matters

Recent studies (Beghetto & Karwowski, 2023; Zielińska et al., 2022) point out that creative confidence is the mediator link between creative potential and creative performance. That is, without creative confidence, it is very unlikely that a student will produce creative work, regardless of their potential. Additionally, research suggests a positive relationship between creative confidence and self-esteem, internal motivation, and emotional intelligence (Karwowski et al., 2018), as well as a greater likelihood of pursuing STEM subjects in future studies (Vieira et al., 2024). 

How Design Thinking supports the development of creative confidence

Design Thinking is increasingly recognized as a valuable tool for enhancing creative confidence in the classroom (Jobst et al., 2012; Kelley & Kelley, 2013; Kijima et al., 2021; Wingard et al., 2022). It emphasises a human-centered approach to problem-solving (Goldman, 2017; Kelley & Kelley, 2013), encouraging teachers to facilitate rather than dictate, thereby guiding students through a creative process. This involves several key steps: understanding the problem, observing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing. The methodology is deeply rooted in the principle that active participation and experiential learning are crucial for effective education (Lewrick, 2018). 

Deep dive:

Creative Self-Efficacy: Why It Matters for the Future of STEM Education

Kelley and Kelley (2013) state that the idea of creative confidence has its roots in the self-efficacy theory coined by Bandura (1997). Expert opinions (Jobst et al., 2012) highlight Design Thinking’s potential to leverage Bandura’s four sources of self-efficacy – mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states – thereby fostering a conducive learning environment. Through collaborative efforts across various disciplines, students and teachers engage in a form of social learning, benefiting from the diverse perspectives and experiences within their team. This approach not only encourages learning from successes and failures in a non-judgmental setting but also emphasizes the importance of supportive feedback and the notion that it is okay to fail early and often. 

Early engagement in “warm-up” activities ensures that students achieve quick, risk-free successes, thereby establishing a positive emotional and psychological foundation for tackling more complex problems. Moreover, Design Thinking challenges learners with creative tasks that require them to navigate through uncertainty and complex issues, known as “wicked problems” (Rittel & Webber, 1973), with confidence and creativity. 

By integrating these methods, Design Thinking not only aids in solving problems but also significantly contributes to developing a robust sense of self-efficacy among students, through various experiences such as vicarious learning, verbal encouragement, practical engagement, and the achievement of mastery in complex tasks. 

Free to download!

References:

• Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.  
• Beghetto, R. A., & Karwowski, M. (2023). Creative self-beliefs: From creative potential to creative action. In R. Reiter-Palmon & S. Hunter (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Creativity (Second Edition) (pp. 179-193). Academic Press. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91840-4.00010-4  
• Goldman, S., & Kabayadondo, Z.,. (2017). Taking design thinking to school : how the technology of design can transform teachers, learners, and classrooms. Routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9781317327585  
• Jobst, B., Köppen, E., Lindberg, T., Moritz, J., Rhinow, H., & Meinel, C. (2012). The faith-factor in design thinking: Creative confidence through education at the design thinking schools Potsdam and Stanford? In Design thinking research (pp. 35-46). Springer.  
• Karwowski, M., Lebuda, I., & Wiśniewska, E. (2018). Measuring creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity. The International Journal of Creativity & Problem Solving, 28(1), 45-57.  
• Kelley, T., & Kelley, D. (2013). Creative confidence: unleashing the creative potential within us all. New York : Crown Business.  
• Kijima, R., Yang-Yoshihara, M., & Maekawa, M. S. (2021). Using design thinking to cultivate the next generation of female STEAM thinkers. International journal of STEM education, 8(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00271-6  
• Lewrick, M. (2018). The design thinking playbook mindful digital transformation of teams, products, services, businesses and ecosystems / by: Michael Lewrick, Patrick Link, Larry Leifer visualization: Nadia Langensand. Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley.  
• Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy sciences, 4(2), 155-169.  
• Vieira, M., Kennedy, J., Leonard, S. N., & Cropley, D. (2024). Creative Self-Efficacy: Why It Matters for the Future of STEM Education. Creativity research journal, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2024.2309038  
• Wingard, A., Kijima, R., Yang-Yoshihara, M., & Sun, K. (2022). A Design Thinking Approach to Developing Girls’ Creative Self-Efficacy in STEM. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 101140.  
• Zielińska, A., Lebuda, I., & Karwowski, M. (2022). Scaling the Creative Self: An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Short Scale of Creative Self. Creativity research journal, 34(4), 431-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2123139