From algorithms to artistry: Promoting high school students’ creativity through interdisciplinary integration of creative coding and smart design

Creativity is a critical skill for high school students. This study implemented an interdisciplinary integration of creative coding and smart design course developed with the project-based learning (PBL) framework and the 5E instructional model in an 18-week high school technology course, aiming to examine the impact of the interdisciplinary integration course on fostering students’ creativity. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 150 sophomore high school students from three intact classes at a public high school in central China, comprising an experimental group (N = 49) who participated in the interdisciplinary integration course, control group 1 (N = 49)who received a single creative coding course, and control group 2 (N = 52) who received a single smart design course. Data was collected through pre-test and post-test of creative thinking skills and scores on creative outputs, and analyzed using paired samples t-tests, one-way ANCOVA, and independent samples t-tests. Results showed that the interdisciplinary integration course promoted higher levels of high school students’ creative thinking. But no significant difference was observed between the experimental group and control group 1 in originality, nor between the experimental group and control group 2 in elaboration. Additionally, students in the interdisciplinary integration course produced superior creative outputs, though no significant difference was observed in the resolution dimension compared to control group 1. Overall, the interdisciplinary integration course developed with the PBL framework and the 5E instructional model proved more effective in promoting creativity than single subject courses. These findings contribute to the theory and practice of interdisciplinary course design and provide valuable guidance for educators in promoting students’ creativity.