Using Creative Projects to Foster Inclusion, Creativity, and Learning in Engineering: Project Outcomes in a Large Statics Course

Making engineering courses more diverse and inclusive has received increased support recently. The Include program aims to transform the academic environment in engineering to empower students who identify as neurodiverse; and, as part of the program, the statics course, a required course for all civil engineering majors, was redesigned based on principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and a strength-based lens toward neurodiversity. Among many UDL interventions, the most innovative of the course changes, the creative project option, was an alternative to the traditional final exam. The objective of this case study is to examine the effectiveness of the creative projects as a method of assessing students’ creativity and knowledge. Data from three semesters were collected and used for evaluation by subject area experts, and were analyzed using multiple regression models, Levene’s test for equality of variances, and independent samples t-tests. Independent ratings of creativity and knowledge positively predicted grades on the projects overall, suggesting that the projects were adequate assessments of students’ learning and application. Ratings of demonstrated knowledge were greater for problem-solving projects, whereas ratings for creativity were greater for open-ended projects, suggesting that each project drew on different student strengths. These results suggest that creative projects provide a good method of assessment, which may foster greater inclusion, creativity, and learning in engineering education.