Diagnosing the creativity of designers: individual feedback within mass higher education

The development of mass higher education has forced design educators to reflect on the teaching methods in use. Previous investigations have explored web-based technologies as a means to compensate for increased student numbers within the established traditions of design education. In extending such research this paper explores the application of online creativity diagnostics to deliver individual feedback and guidance. A web-based diagnostic tool built upon Amabile's Componential Model of Creativity was developed through which a series of questions pertinent to domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant processes and task motivation were presented. Diagnostic feedback was available via a personalised online report. After receiving diagnostic feedback, paired sample t-test results suggested that design students can benefit from the use of creativity diagnostics, particularly as a means of raising self-awareness regarding skills relevant to their creative development. Moreover, this diagnostic process has the potential to occur within a mass higher educational context.