A4 Article in conference proceedings
Exploring Creativity Expectation in CS1 Students’ View of Programming (2020)

Isomöttönen, V., Lakanen, A.-J., & Nieminen, P. (2020). Exploring Creativity Expectation in CS1 Students’ View of Programming. In FIE 2020 : Proceedings of the 50th IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference. IEEE. Conference proceedings : Frontiers in Education Conference. https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE44824.2020.9274134

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Isomöttönen, Ville; Lakanen, Antti-Jussi; Nieminen, Paavo

Parent publication: FIE 2020 : Proceedings of the 50th IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference

Conference:

Place and date of conference: Uppsala, Sweden, 21.-24.10.2020

ISBN: 978-1-7281-8962-8

eISBN: 9781728189611

Journal or series: Conference proceedings : Frontiers in Education Conference

ISSN: 1539-4565

eISSN: 2377-634X

Publication year: 2020

Publisher: IEEE

Publication country: United States

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE44824.2020.9274134

Publication open access: Other way freely accessible online

Publication channel open access: 

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/73103

Web address where publication is available: https://www.fie2020.org/abstracts-and-papers/

Abstract

Full paper in Research category: Literature provides creativity definitions that are applicable to educational settings. For example, the definition by Plucker et al. emphasizes the ‘social context’ in which the usefulness and novelty of a creative outcome is evaluated, and notes that this emphasis allows students’ coursework to be deemed creative without extraordinary characteristics. Computing educators tend to assume that incoming CS course populations welcome creativity, and utilize application contexts (e.g., games, media, arts, and robots) in which creativity is a central attribute. Previous research also suggests that beginner CS students may initially possess versatile identities regarding what computing will entail. This article seeks to provide further evidence for creativity expectation among students starting a CS1 course, looking at how and to what extent creativity is acknowledged. This agenda was observed to be possible using a large data set (N=1,946, eight-year period) in which students at the very beginning of their computing studies characterized what programming is. Qualitatively different creativity-related categories were identified and frequencies for these categories were counted in a sample of 240 respondents. Further content analysis was applied to the remaining data by using word searches. The categories identified were: freedom to create and express, creativity needed in problem solving, programming as a circumstance for personalized activity, associations with arts, creative innovations, tolerance to open-ended situations, aesthetics and elegance of programming, and programming as a flow-like activity. In the sample of 240, 59% of the data was interpreted to refer to creativity, and among the word-searched portion of the data, nearly one-third was interpreted to indicate it. The illustrations and the numbers of references support educators’ assumptions as they consider introducing creativity-related education.

Keywords: programming; creativity; creative activity; problem solving

Free keywords: introductory programming; creativity

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2020

JUFO rating: 1