Measuring creative potential: Using social network analysis to monitor a learners' creative capacity

Abstract

Despite the burgeoning rhetoric from political, social and educational commentators regarding creativity and learning and teaching, there is a paucity of scalable and measurable examples of creativity-centric pedagogical practice. This paper makes an argument for the application of social network visualisations to inform and support creativity-enabling pedagogical practice. This paper first describes social networks and how they relate to creative capacities and learning as a social process. It then provides an initial case study of how social network analysis may be meaningfully applied to evaluate students' learning networks and creative capacities, and elaborates on how such an evaluative resource can allow educators to design and implement creativityenabling pedagogical practice. In so doing, this paper contributes conceptual, methodological and empirical advances that can take learning and teaching for creativity, particularly in higher education, beyond rhetoric towards more observable and measurable mainstream pedagogical practice.

Social Networks and the Building of Learning Communities: An Experimental Study of a Social MOOC

“…In the educational arena, Dawson, Tan, and McWilliam (2011) used centrality measures to monitor the learners' creative capacity; Putnik et al (2015) studied the correlation between these measures and students' performance; and Rabbany, Elatia, Takaffoli, and Zaïane (2014) applied SNA so as to analyze the structure of the interactions raised between the students in forums.…”

Passion: Engine of creative teaching in an English university?

“…Indeed, it is argued that creativity in higher education is frequently seen as ubiquitous and is taken for granted (Dawson et al, 2011, Livingston, 2010. There is also evidence that the pressures on University staff to produce high achieving students means that creative approaches can be seen as unnecessary work, and resources including time are perceived to be insufficient (Chao, 2009, Clouder et al, 2008, Gibson, 2010.…”

“…Frequently positioned in relation to economic productivity and competitiveness, nurturing student creativity from school into higher education is increasingly prioritised by policy makers as vital to building successful future work forces (Dawson et al, 2011;Gibson, 2010;Livingston, 2010;McWilliam & Dawson, 2008;McWilliam & Haukka, 2008;McWilliam, Hearn & Haseman, 2008). McWilliam et al (ibid) refer to 'the call to creativity' in higher education and many universities include 'creativity' in their mission statement (Dale, 2008).…”

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AbstractLiterature suggests that whilst creativity is frequently seen as ubiquitous and taken for granted (Dawson, Tan & McWilliam, 2011;Livingston, 2010) there is evidence that creative approaches in higher education can be seen as unnecessary work (Chao, 2009;Clouder et al, 2008;Gibson, 2010;, and creative teaching is not always recognised or valued (Clouder et al, 2008;Dawson et al, 2011, Gibson, 2010. Forming part of a cross-cultural study of creative teaching (although reporting on only one part of it, the cross-cultural parts being presented in other articles in production), the research explored student and lecturer perspectives in four universities in England, Malaysia and Thailand, using mixed methods within an interpretive frame.

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Using Social Networking Analysis (SNA) to Analyze Collaboration between Students (Case Study: Students of Open University in Kupang)

“…The use of SNA for visualization that supports creativityenabling pedagogical practices was found in [4]. They provide initial case study of how social network analysis can be useful for evaluating student learning networks and creative capacity.…”