[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-598694-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-598694-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","the-transformative-potential-of-creative-assignments-in-higher-education","The Transformative Potential of Creative Assignments in Higher Education","","The paper examines how creative assignments can reshape higher-education praxis by thoughtfully embedding creativity into required coursework. It argues that such assignments broaden and deepen student experience and strengthen the links between academic tasks and the realities of students’ lives. Practical obstacles to integrating creativity are reviewed, and a concrete example from an undergraduate Community Studies course illustrates transformative learning outcomes, supported by faculty observations and student survey evidence on growth and empowerment.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-transformative-potential-of-creative-assignments-in-higher-education/598694/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-transformative-potential-of-creative-assignments-in-higher-education/598694.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"awa","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the paper propose for integrating creativity into higher-education assignments?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It encourages shifting higher-education praxis so creativity is included in assignments with clear pedagogical intentions. The goal is to deepen student experience and better connect required work with students’ lives.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why is creativity integration described as challenging in academia?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The paper highlights constraints at personal and systemic levels, including resistance across administration, faculty, students, and government policy. It also notes that the complexity and broad definitions of creativity can confuse practitioners.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the paper explain transformative learning when students face a creative assignment?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It describes students encountering a disorienting dilemma when the creative task differs from expected academic routines. In Mezirow’s terms, this initiating phase can lead to re-examining previously held beliefs.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},598694,1792160624,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":55,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},3985747858093,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","20  \nThe Transformative Potential of Creative Assignments in Higher Education  \nNicky Duenkel  \nCape Breton University  \nThis paper encourages shifts in praxis to promote the thoughtful inclusion of creativity into higher education assignments in order to broaden and deepen student experience, and offer greater integration between required assignments and the complexity of students’ lives. Obstacles to integrating creativity into academia are also briefly explored. An example of what is meant by a creative assignment, from a second-year undergraduate Community Studies course, is offered, illustrating the transformative learning potential that can be stimulated through this application. Faculty observations and quotes from student surveys serve as additional evidence of students’ enthusiasm, growth, and personal empowerment achieved through this typeof assignment.  \nIntroduction  \n…creativity is more than just fashionable – there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that it is already one of the key drivers of commercial success and social betterment. By implication, universities should be teaching those aspects of creativity that are amenable to being learned. (McWilliam, 2007, p. 2)  \nAs the above quote asserts, there are incentives to in  \ntegrating creativity into higher education in order to meet the needs of the modern workforce as well as to facilitate students’ growth into the richness of becoming more fully human. Likewise, there are also constraints on incorporating creativity into academia, ranging from the personal to the systemic. These include resistance on all  \nlevels: from administration, faculty, student, and government policy (Jackson, 2008) .  \nAt the most basic level, the complexity of the concept of creativity itself can be perceived as an obstacle (Jackson, 2008) . Though creativity and creative thinking are well explored within the literature, definitions remain wide ranging, and thus, confusing to the practitioner. In educational contexts, creativity can involve self-expression and the arts, imagination, producing something original, working across disciplines, demonstrating openness to experiences, or complex problem solving (McWilliam & Dawson, 2008) .  \nDespite accumulating data about the value of creativity in all realms of life, creativity is rarely an overt learning objective in higher education, with the obvious exception of the fine and performing arts (Donnelly, 2004) . This is seen in contrast to critical thinking, which  \nhas been embraced from preschool on up to the highest levels of teaching and learning (Brookfield, 1991; Case, 2005). Creativity and critical thinking are often perceived as residing at opposite ends ofa spectrum – the first based in the imagination and the non-rational, the second grounded in rational and logical processes. Yet literature repeatedly acknowledges that creativity and critical thinking are intertwined (Clegg, 2008; Paul & Elder, 2008) . For educators, focusing on one at the expense of the other reinforces a false dichotomy – one simply does not have one without the other in day-to-day functioning.  \nThough teaching to multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983) is sometimes integrated into higher education classrooms, when it comes to enhancing student understanding of course materials through assignments, more often than not faculty revert to papers, essays, and exams. Assignments are one place where creativity can be incorporated into teaching and learning, reaching beyond linguistic intelligence to incorporate inter- and intrapersonal knowing, as well as engaging with kinaesthetic, musical, and other realms of expression. With clear pedagogical intentions, creative assignments can support students’ growth and transformation within any discipline (Donnelly, 2004). These are not, however, just ‘tricks of the trade’ to be dropped into standard course delivery. They need to be integrated with curricular goals that make it clear why students are being asked to th","cbCainUyedQbx0Gf","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainUyedQbx0Gf","pdf",287264,"English","# Introduction\n## Context and Positionality","[{\"question\":\"What does the paper propose for integrating creativity into higher-education assignments?\",\"answer\":\"It encourages shifting higher-education praxis so creativity is included in assignments with clear pedagogical intentions. The goal is to deepen student experience and better connect required work with students’ lives.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is creativity integration described as challenging in academia?\",\"answer\":\"The paper highlights constraints at personal and systemic levels, including resistance across administration, faculty, students, and government policy. It also notes that the complexity and broad definitions of creativity can confuse practitioners.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper explain transformative learning when students face a creative assignment?\",\"answer\":\"It describes students encountering a disorienting dilemma when the creative task differs from expected academic routines. In Mezirow’s terms, this initiating phase can lead to re-examining previously held beliefs.\"}]","The Transformative Potential of Creative Assignments in Higher Education | PDF",1792087401,15]