Creativity and Innovation in Programming Courses Doug Tougaw Valparaiso University Keywords: Creativity, Innovation, Embedded Microcontrollers, Programming

Why? “Creativity is an indispensable quality for engineering, and given the growing scope of the challenges ahead and the complexity and diversity of the technologies of the 21 st century, creativity will grow in importance.” After completing these courses, students should be able to (1) demonstrate techniques that promote creativity and (2) apply those techniques to problems in programming.

When? I have taught a course in Creativity and Innovation in the MBA program for five years. I have recently taken over our introductory programming course. I am on sabbatical in the spring, when I will develop new course materials to take over our Embedded Microcontroller course and lab. The project will first be implemented in

Where? This effort has not been extended to other universities, although it has overlap with our College of Business. It will impact two sections of our introductory programming course, two sections of Embedded Microcontrollers course, and three sections of the associated lab course.

What? I have already developed materials for our programming course that encourage creativity (computer graphics, animations, final projects) My theory is that integrating creative opportunities within programming courses will not only enhance students’ creative skills, but it will also enhance their engagement with and self- efficacy within their programming classes. The creative exercises in the introductory programming class have been very well received by the students so far.

Prognosis? Currently writing a paper for ASEE Have collected data from last year and this year documenting student self-assessments and quality of final projects graded using a rubric. This project will scale up first at Valparaiso over the next two years, involving more than half of my course load. Challenges include finding good activities that will engage students rather than annoy them. How do you engage your students in programming? Do you teach them creativity?