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With organizations’ rising interest in creativity as one of the most sought out skill sets for graduates, it has become crucial to infuse creativity training in academic programs. This study evaluated freshmen business students’ perceptions about their personal, everyday creativity and examined the influence of infusing creativity training in their

With organizations’ rising interest in creativity as one of the most sought out skill sets for graduates, it has become crucial to infuse creativity training in academic programs. This study evaluated freshmen business students’ perceptions about their personal, everyday creativity and examined the influence of infusing creativity training in their freshmen seminar course.

This action research study drew upon the intersection of three creative self-belief theories from management and education psychology literature: Jaussi, et al (2007) Creative Identity Theory; Karwowski (2014) Creative Mindset Theory; and Tierney & Farmer (2002) Creative Self-efficacy Theory. These theories arguably stemmed from Burke (1991) Identity Theory; Dweck (2006) Mindset Theory; and Bandura (1977, 1997) Self-efficacy Theory, respectively. This approach was used to understand what factors influenced students’ perceptions about their personal, everyday creativity.

Freshmen business students participated in the study. A concurrent mixed methods approach was used to gather data from the students. Quantitative data came from a post- and retrospective pre-intervention survey that assessed four constructs: creative identity, creative self-efficacy, growth mindset, and fixed mindset. The data also came from the quantitative section of a post-workshop feedback survey asking to rate the effectiveness of each workshop. Qualitative data were gathered in several ways. Student interviews focused on asking how they defined creativity, shared reasons that motivated or inhibited them to practice creativity, and explained to what extent the workshops influenced them. Additional qualitative data came from student reflection essays and the qualitative section of a post-workshop feedback survey.

Research results suggested students gained an increased understanding in the importance of adopting a growth mindset, designating ‘creative’ as a critical identity and building confidence in their creative endeavors. The students’ interview and reflection essay data were consistent with the survey data. Finally, research results from the study highlighted the benefit of creativity training as a crucial, complementary, and iterative form of study in an academic setting allowing students to know themselves better and to prioritize their creative performances as part of their program learning outcomes.
ContributorsHomayoun, Sogol (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Henriksen, Danah (Committee member) / Underiner, Tamara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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A sequential mixed-methods action research study was undertaken with a group of 10th-grade students enrolled in a required English course at an independent secondary school. The purpose of the study was to investigate students' negotiation of agentic writer identity in a course that featured a three-strand intervention: (a) a high

A sequential mixed-methods action research study was undertaken with a group of 10th-grade students enrolled in a required English course at an independent secondary school. The purpose of the study was to investigate students' negotiation of agentic writer identity in a course that featured a three-strand intervention: (a) a high degree of student choice; (b) ongoing written self-reflection; and (c) ongoing instruction in mindset. The researcher drew on self-determination theory and identity theory to operationalize agentic writer identity around three constructs—behaviors, identity, and belief. A questionnaire was used to identify an array of cases that would illustrate a range of experiences around agentic writer identity. Questionnaire data were analyzed to identify a sample from which to collect qualitative data and to identify prominent central relations among the three constructs, which were further explored in the second stage through the qualitative data. Qualitative data were gathered from a primary group of six students in the form of student journals and interviews around the central constructs of writing belief, writing behavior, and writer identity. Using a snowballing sampling method, four students were added to the sample group to form a second tier of data. The corpus of qualitative data from all 10 students was coded and analyzed using the technique of re-storying to produce a narrative interpretation, in the style of the Norse saga, of students' engagement in agentic writing behaviors, espousal of agentic writing beliefs, and construction of agentic writer identities. A defense of the chosen narrative approach and genre was provided. Interpretation of the re-storied data was provided, including discussion of interaction among themes that emerged from the data and the re-storying process. Emergent themes and phenomena from the re-storied data were realigned with the quantitative data as well as with the constructs that informed the survey design and sampling. Implications for classroom teachers, as well as suggestions for further research, were suggested.
ContributorsAvery, Andrea, 1977- (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Carlson, David L. (Committee member) / Henriksen, Danah (Committee member) / Rende, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Academic integrity among college students continues to be a problem at colleges and universities. This is particularly important for journalism students where ethical issues in the profession are critical, especially in an era of “fake news” and distrust in the media. While most journalism students study professional ethics, they do

Academic integrity among college students continues to be a problem at colleges and universities. This is particularly important for journalism students where ethical issues in the profession are critical, especially in an era of “fake news” and distrust in the media. While most journalism students study professional ethics, they do not necessarily make the connection between their future careers and their academic career. In fact, at Western Washington University (Western) a recent exploration into academic dishonesty revealed that violations were increasing, and that journalism was one of the top three majors where violations occurred (based on percent of majors). To address this problem of practice, an online academic integrity resource – specific to journalism – was developed to see whether it could increase students’ knowledge as it relates to academic integrity and decrease violations. The mixed methods action research (MMAR) study took place during summer and fall quarter at Western Washington University, a state university located in Bellingham, Washington. Participants included students who were pre-majors, majors, and minors in the three tracks of journalism: news-editorial, public relations, and visual journalism. They were given multiple opportunities to self-enroll in the Resource for Ethical Academic Development (READ) Canvas course for academic integrity. Self-efficacy theory and social learning theory provided a framework for the study. Data was collected through pre- and post-innovation surveys as well as qualitative interviews. Quantitative results suggest that there is work yet to do in order to educate students about academic integrity and potential consequences of behavior. Qualitative results suggest that one avenue may be through an online resource that provides concise and comprehensive information, models behavior relevant to the student’s own discipline, and is easily accessible. It also suggests that a culture change from a systemic emphasis on grades to a focus on growth and individual learning may be beneficial.
ContributorsKeller, Jennifer Margaret (Author) / Henriksen, Danah (Thesis advisor) / Silcock, Bill (Committee member) / VanderStaay, Steven (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021