Work in progress: Influence of cognitive concept connection, personal motivations, and personal characteristics when assessing creativity

Industry now requires interdisciplinary and creative thinking skills because of a paradigm shift in target markets. Therefore, modern engineering education should focus on developing students' innovative thinking for solving engineering problems and design courses to foster students' creativity, critical thinking, and ability to transfer their skills. This study employed the widely used Moodle learning platform for courses on computer science and engineering. Appropriate guidance from the platform regarding the different objectives of five project stages enabled group members to communicate, exchange, and interact, and the students gradually developed their thinking from divergent to convergent. Through deep analysis of the students' learning portfolios, the effects of cognitive concepts, personal motivations, and personal characteristics on creativity were investigated. Moreover, this study further explored three issues regarding the differences between highly and lowly creative students so that teachers could employ appropriate teaching resources or assistance. The findings of this study can help teachers provide timely guidance and responses to students. Fostering students' creative thinking and unleashing their imagination thus develops their capacity for innovation, which is now essential in engineering education.