Abstract:

In this AI and digital connected era, engaging students in a creative process presents significant challenges, especially with the distractions of smartphones and the omnipresence of global crises such as climate change, political upheaval, and rapid technological advancements. This paper introduces an exercise aimed at enhancing creativity and engagement in diverse groups, including faculty, students, and other participants. Unlike traditional methods that rely heavily on verbal discussions, this approach emphasizes creative sketching and building, tapping into different cognitive processes and allowing less verbally inclined students to take the lead. The exercise has led to noticeable shifts in leadership dynamics within groups, empowering typically quieter individuals through hands-on modeling and collaborative building.

The core of this exercise is designed to physically engage all participants in the ideation process, particularly in larger groups of 30 or more. This method ensures that each person and group contribute to the evolving idea, fostering a dynamic environment of physical movement and continuous intellectual challenges. While this approach may somewhat constrain the free development of ideas, it compensates by facilitating the rapid evolution of multiple concepts.

Participants move between stations, each offering different materials, contributing to a collective model or prototype. This culminates in every team having interacted with every concept and material provided.

The paper details the methodology of using Creativity Stations in educational and consultancy settings, sharing experiences and insights gained from implementing this process. The name "Stations of Creativity," coined by students, aptly describes the movement between stations, evolving from moving concepts to moving teams among concepts.

Keywords:

Ideation, Engagement, Interactive Creativity, Stations, Prototype.