Challenge Based Learning Nurtures Creative Thinking:An Evaluation Study

1.ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of Challenge Based Learning on students‘ creativity and innovativeness 2.MethodsA convenience sample of 48 undergraduate nursing students who enrolled in the elective course,Innovation and Creative Thinking was invited to participate in the evaluative study.They completed the Creativity and Innovation Effectiveness Profile and Challenge Based Learning Student Questionnaire before and after the course.Flanders Interaction Analysis System was used to analyze the interaction between teacher and students in classroom.Students submitted the reflective papers in a week after the course,which was also analyzed to increase the validity of the study.3.ResultsApart from descriptive statistics,the mean scores of the Creativity and Innovation Effectiveness Profile between the pretest and posttest were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test.The results showed that the mean scores of all 7 domains(i.e.creative consciousness,levels of curiosity,pattern breaking skills,idea nurturing ability,willingness to experiment and take risks,courage and resilience and energetic persistence)of Creativity and Innovation Effectiveness were significantly higher in the posttest.Interaction analysis results showed that the high ratio of teacher speaking and students speaking(79.59%,15.53%),high ratio of positive response(10.91%)and low negative response(0.39%).Through the reflective papers,students‘ changes in knowledge,affect and behavior were identified.They became more aware of innovation,more curious and imaginative,learned how to nurture new ideas and new thinking,could think out of the box,more willing to experiment and take action,and improved their ability to adapt.4.ConclusionsThe ‘Innovation and Creative Thinking' course was conducive to students' development of ability to create and innovate.Students' ability to innovate and create was enhanced through using Challenge Based Learning confirmed by the collected data of Creativity and Innovation Effectiveness Profile and Challenge Based Learning Student Questionnaire,classroom interaction analysis and reflective papers.The successful practical experience of using CBL in the study provides a good reference for nurse teachers who want their students to be self-directed,creative and innovative.