Creative Ways of Knowing
About the Presentation
Creativity is critical to solving complex challenges and leading innovation. Globally there are calls for linking creativity and education in order to prepare students for the demands of 21st century professions. Even in the domain of engineering, where facts, laws and truth dominate over creativity and ambiguity, learning and teaching creativity and teaching creatively are becoming more prominent phenomena in higher education.
This seminar introduces creative ways of teaching engineering and science courses. Creativity will be regarded as essential for science and engineering abstract and difficult concepts and for motivation and interests of undergraduate college students. The relevance of creativity for engineering education will be discussed; criteria for creative projects/assignments and a creativity teaching framework are presented. Together we will run through creative pedagogies of engagement while exploring and being creative with content-specific environments. Attendees will leave the seminar with ideas how to design creative projects and assignments and familiarity in the use of pedagogies of engagement.
Friday, March 29, 2019
About the Presenter
Dr. Diana Bairaktarova
Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering Education
Affiliate Faculty, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Director of the Abilities, Creativity and Ethics in Design [ACE(D)] Lab – Virginia Tech.
Dr. Bairaktarova earned her BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria, an MBA from Hamline School of Business and PhD degree in Engineering Education from Purdue University. She has over fifteen years of experience working as a Design and Manufacturing Engineer. Before joining Virginia Tech, Diana started her academic career as a Professor of Practice in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at University of Oklahoma. Her current research projects investigate how aptitudes and abilities, interest, and manipulation of physical and virtual objects influence learning and performance in engineering. By providing applications of real-world engineering tasks in the exploration of new designs that stimulate creativity, Dr. Bairaktarova aims to prepare her students with innovative thinking, helping them to face rapidly changing technologies.
More on the ACE(D) Lab here http://aced.enge.vt.edu/