Work in progress - flexible learning environments to improve interdisciplinary creativity and team interactions

This paper reports preliminary results from a semester-long case study of interdisciplinary student engineering design teams that use a classroom with flexible features in order to examine the impact of team interaction and flexible environment on creativity. Twenty-one students recruited from a senior-level interdisciplinary class consisted of five self-formed teams with computer engineering, marketing, communication and industrial design majors. They were tasked with a ¿Smart Dorm Room¿ design project for students with special needs. Team meetings were observed and interviews and questionnaires were administered to examine student perception of the impact of physical environment and tools as well as team interaction levels and creativity of the teams. Preliminary findings confirm the positive impact of flexible environment as well as interdisciplinary team interactions on creativity.