In the past, creativity has been considered a personality trait. However, more recent research views the concept through a multidimensional lens. Hung (2015) reviewed many definitions of creativity and identified the common elements among the definitions as: “(1) new, original, novel (2) ideas or insights that occur in the process of (3) problem solving and produce a product that is (4) useful and accepted in its social/cultural community” (p. 238). Thus, problem-solving has been recognized as a significant aspect of creativity. Hung (2015) suggested problem-based learning (PBL) as a means to provide an environment that fosters creativity. Various PBL models have been used, but the ones that require a high degree of self-directedness and use highly complex problems hold the most promise. Per Hung (2015), PBL is successful in fostering creativity due to the alignment between its instructional support features and the characteristics of creativity. Refer to Figure 1. Affordance of PBL for cultivating creativity (Hung, 2015, p. 242). Creative problem solving (CPS) has also been described in the context of marketing. Titus (2000) described marketing as the process of offering creative solutions to consumer problems and emphasizes the need to increase students' knowledge of creative problem-solving. CPS is a special case of problem-solving in general. Problem-solving can be classified as algorithmic or heuristic (Amabile, 1983, as cited in Titus, 2000). Algorithmic problems are those for which a known path to a solution exists, like assembling an airplane. Heuristic problems are those that don’t have an easily identifiable path to the solution, like writing a paper. These problems allow for creative expression, and most marketing problems are, by definition, heuristic. Problems like product positioning or marketing communication have no identified path to the solution. Creativity can be thought of as the birth of imaginative new ideas (Miller, 1987, as cited in Titus, 2000). In the context of problem-solving, creative solutions need to be novel and appropriate. Thus, CPS is defined as activities that are undertaken to generate solutions that are 1) novel and appropriate to the task and 2) where the task is heuristic rather than algorithmic. The CPS process is a methodical, sustained, and disciplined cognitive process (rather than freewheeling and unstructured). Various CPS frameworks break down the CPS process into distinct stages that correspond to marketing processes, such as problem-finding and solution implementing (Titus, 2000) (refer to the figure below). Most CPS frameworks recognize the role of divergent and convergent thinking in the CPS process. Divergent thinking is the ability to produce many innovative or unusual ideas to expand the range of possible solutions. Convergent thinking is the ability to converge on the best possible solutions or the ability to evaluate or judge the possible solutions for implementation. There are various analytical techniques to enhance both divergent and convergent thinking.
Collaboration and Teamwork
If you would like to incorporate activities addressing this competency into your class, please click V-module Competency #1: Collaboration and Teamwork!
Collaboration
Collaborative activities have been defined differently by scholars. One of the most widely used definitions is that of collaborative learning (CL), which is broadly defined as “a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together,” and more specifically as joint problem solving (Dillenbourg, 1999, p. 1). Baker (2015), quoting Dillenbourg, further clarified the assumptions about (potentially) collaborative situations, which are as follows: - The interaction should be between persons having equal statuses and rights. - The working groups should hand into the teacher a single shared production or solution to the problem. - Not all ‘group work’ is either cooperative or collaborative, there will be periods where students are not engaged in joint work. - The most ‘collaborative’ situations are those that are largely exploratory, where no clear plan or procedure exists for solving the problem. - The aim of group work is often that the students learn, in the sense of co-elaborating and appropriating task-related conceptual understanding, and not just that they reach the correct answer. - The role of the instructor differs from one-to-one or whole class situations, as they are now creating, organizing and evaluating student groups instead of being the ‘classroom orchestrator.’ Research on CL activities suggests that collaborative interactions are characterized by shared goals, symmetry of structure, and a high degree of negotiation, interactivity, and interdependence. Collaboration is linked to a number of important educational outcomes, including critical thinking, metacognition, and motivation and it can have a powerful effect on low-achieving students. Factors which may moderate the impact of collaboration on student learning include student characteristics, group composition, and task characteristics (Lai, 2011).
Collaboration and Industry Relevance
The fashion industry has seen many collaborative efforts in the current age of social media. The industry has begun to capitalize on collaboration and accessibility, instead of banking on exclusivity. Collaboration comes in many forms, including between two brands, between a brand and an influencer, or between a brand and a creative work (movie, art, etc.). Sampson (2016) elaborated on the reasons for collaboration in the fashion world and provided several examples. Kochar (2021) suggested prioritizing collaboration throughout the supply chain as a method to shorten time-to-market for new designs, requiring that designers, product developers, merchandisers, and quality assistants ‘unite, stay nimble, and make quick decisions.’ Collaboration and the ability to work with diverse teams with different competencies is a significant factor in creating a successful career in the apparel industry.
Collaboration and Teamwork in Apparel Programs
Many fashion programs use the principle of collaboration, or the coordinated effort to solve a problem in designing their curriculum. These collaborations take various forms, e.g., forming teams to collaborate on collections as demonstrated by Simoes and Ribeiro (2019); creating collaborative curriculum content for fashion inspiration from historic dress like Gam and Banning (2012); interdisciplinary collaborative approach as demonstrated by Kim (2016), Zeaglar et al. (2013), and Foster (2020); and combining of art and fashion for a community project (an installation on campus) as presented by Anderson et al. (2020) and Hwang et al. (2019). Other examples include using product lifecycle management as a framework and alternative approach to establish a collaborative, forward-facing pedagogy, as in Conlan (2019); and collaboration with apparel programs in universities from other countries as demonstrated by Hodges et al. (2011) and Karpova et al. (2011). The collaborative approach has also been used for fostering sustainability learning as in Armstrong’s (2015) use of Vygotsky’s approach and Bedor et al.’s (2021) collaborative activities between institutions and the industry. A few studies on fostering collaboration in apparel programs are elaborated upon in the next section, which includes details on the purpose and assessment methods of these initiatives. The last section includes summaries of miscellaneous articles on collaboration in apparel programs.
Collaboration to Foster Learning on Sustainability
Armstrong (2015) used Vygotsky's (1978) Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) approach to teach sustainability to 14 undergraduate seniors in an apparel marketing and design program in the U.S. ZPD emphasizes that learning can be optimized by identification of competencies of the learner and providing only the right assistance to help the learner mature. While applying the above concept to pedagogy, the instructor introduces information and resources responsive to the learner’s current developmental level and the learner continues to refine their conceptual landscape through reciprocal learner-instructor and learner-peer interactions. The approach is especially applicable where foundational knowledge (i.e., sustainability) is missing. Student reflections, at mid-term and in the final week, and focus groups revealed that this approach is useful for filling gaps in understanding about an inherently complex concept while maintaining student engagement, which is useful in disciplines where the integration of sustainability is slow or in transition.
Collaboration for Community-Engaged Projects
Collaborative activities have been defined differently by scholars. One of the most widely used definitions is that of collaborative learning (CL), which is broadly defined as “a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together,” and more specifically as joint problem solving (Dillenbourg, 1999, p. 1). Baker (2015), quoting Dillenbourg, further clarified the assumptions about (potentially) collaborative situations, which are as follows: - The interaction should be between persons having equal statuses and rights. - The working groups should hand into the teacher a single shared production or solution to the problem. - Not all ‘group work’ is either cooperative or collaborative, there will be periods where students are not engaged in joint work. - The most ‘collaborative’ situations are those that are largely exploratory, where no clear plan or procedure exists for solving the problem. - The aim of group work is often that the students learn, in the sense of co-elaborating and appropriating task-related conceptual understanding, and not just that they reach the correct answer. - The role of the instructor differs from one-to-one or whole class situations, as they are now creating, organizing and evaluating student groups instead of being the ‘classroom orchestrator.’ Research on CL activities suggests that collaborative interactions are characterized by shared goals, symmetry of structure, and a high degree of negotiation, interactivity, and interdependence. Collaboration is linked to a number of important educational outcomes, including critical thinking, metacognition, and motivation and it can have a powerful effect on low-achieving students. Factors which may moderate the impact of collaboration on student learning include student characteristics, group composition, and task characteristics (Lai, 2011).
Collaboration to Foster Global Competence
Collaborative development in fashion pedagogy was demonstrated by Hodges et al. (2011) through curriculum designed to foster global competence. A three-year collaborative project between universities in the U.S., Russia, Thailand, and Australia was designed to create learning modules based on real-world industry issues. The project aimed to provide students with exposure to the perspectives of individuals within countries or cultures beyond the U.S. in the face of a globalized industry. The measure of global competence was assessed through an instrument used to measure the students ‘cultural intelligence’ (CQ), or the ability to be socially effective across various cultural settings. Hodges et al. (2011) undertook interviews and focus groups with faculty, industry professionals, and government officials in Russia, Thailand, and Australia to draw insights to develop eight web-based modules. A total of 172 students from three U.S. universities enrolled in the courses with the modules and were assessed through a pre and post-survey. The CQ scale assessed 4 dimensions, including (1) Metacognition (cognitive strategies to acquire and develop coping strategies), (2) Cognition (knowledge about different cultures), (3) Behavior (repertoire of culturally appropriate behaviors), and (4) Motivation (desire and self-efficacy). The results of the paired t-test showed an increase in the first three dimensions, while the Motivation CQ showed a slight decrease while maintaining an overall higher mean than other dimensions. The results revealed that the modules were successful in fostering global competence. In a similar vein, a virtual team-based multinational collaboration project, ‘Going Global,’ involved 172 students in apparel programs in three countries, U.S., Australia, and South Africa. Karpova et al. (2011) designed as an experiential collaborative learning project in which the authors collaboratively conceptualized and developed a learning module consisting of three assignments where student-to-student communication and interaction was computer-mediated. The authors investigated the learning experiences and outcomes of the students through analyzing reflective essays written by the students. The interpretive analysis revealed three topical areas: discovering new knowledge, acquiring new skills, and personal development. The results indicated that participation in the unique learning experience helped students acquire new knowledge and skills (e.g., appreciating cultural differences, learning to collaborate virtually across time zones, time management), become more mature, and, ultimately, feel better prepared to enter the global apparel industry.
Other Collaboration and Teamwork Resources
Coursera offers a short course called ‘Collaborative Design,’ from the Parsons School of Design (found at https://www.coursera.org/learn/fashion-design-process). It is part of the course, ‘Transforming the Fashion Business Specialization’ and is free to enroll. The course emphasizes the importance of collaboration to designers and brands and discusses ways to integrate new modes of thinking into the design process, including short films and documentaries, storytelling, and performance. Course materials provide many examples of collaboration in the fashion industry, including those of high street brands with couture, multi-disciplinary collaboration, collaborations in social media and celebrity collaborations. According to Cardona (2021), FIT’s ‘Principles for Fostering a Collaborative Classroom’ uses Shin’s use of virtual classrooms in Figma to foster collaboration among design students through open exchange of ideas between designers. Part of the Advertising and Digital Design program at FIT, though not related to an apparel program, the course uses a collaborative design platform called ‘Figma’ which is free for students and educators and might be applicable to designing assignments on branding collaterals or creative packaging. The virtual classroom helps students to embrace the discomfort of working in open team environments. Students learn to work in study groups for individual assignments to exchange feedback early (and incrementally) instead of waiting for the final presentation. The students are also required to collect images of designs by professional designers or each other that informed their work and are thus encouraged to recognize and give credit to the influence of designs from others.
Conclusion
Collaborative learning is essentially joint problem solving. The assumptions of collaborative situations include an equal status among students, an exploratory approach, and the co-elaborating of a concept. The fashion industry has moved towards becoming more collaborative; therefore many apparel programs carry out collaborative projects to enhance students’ learning. These collaborations come in various forms, including interdisciplinary, community project-led or global competency-led and research studies have revealed that they enhance personal development and knowledge, help with learning of culturally appropriate behaviors, provide real-world experience, offer a means to learn about relevant topics like sustainability in a meaningful way, and provide an opportunity to contribute to the community.
References
Anderson, R., Arnall, C., McDonald, A., Maher, M., Prado, M., Dent, C., Deeds, D., & McGuire, R. (2020). Collaborative education: Community based art and fashion learning applications for the prolonged use phase of a t-shirt. Iowa State University Digital Press.
Armstrong, C. (2015). In the zone: Vygotskian-lnspired pedagogy for sustainability. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 133–144.
Baker, M. (2015). Collaboration in collaborative learning. Interaction Studies, 16(3), 451–473.
Bedor, S. A., Kamis, A., Shafie, S., Najwa, F., Jamaluddin, R., & Rahim, M. B. (2021). Issues and trends in fashion education sustainability. Asian Journal of Vocational Education and Humanities, 2, 9–18.
Cardona (2021, August 25). FIT’s principles for fostering a collaborative classroom. Shortcut.
https://www.figma.com/blog/fits-principles-for-fostering-a-collaborative-classroom/
Conlon, J. (2019). How PLM drives innovation in the curriculum and pedagogy of fashion business education: A case study of a UK undergraduate programme. Product Lifecycle Management: The Case Studies (pp. 171–183). Springer.
Dillenbourg, P. (1999). What do you mean by collaborative learning? Citeseer.
Foster, K. (2020). An inter-disciplinary approach to styling apparel for social media content & marketing media. Iowa State University Digital Press.
Gam, H. J., & Banning, J. (2012). A Collaboration to teach students to utilize historic dress as inspiration for apparel design. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 41(1), 56–68.
Hodges, N., Watchravesringkan, K., Karpova, E., Hegland, J., O’Neal, G., & Kadolph, S. (2011). Collaborative development of textile and apparel curriculum designed to foster students’ global competence. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 39(4), 325–338.
Hwang, C., Liu, H., & Salusso, C. J. (2019). Social responsibility initiative: Examining the influence of a collaborative service learning project on student learning. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 12(3), 356–363.
Karpova, E., Jacobs, B., Lee, J. Y., & Andrew, A. (2011). Preparing students for careers in the global apparel industry. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 29(4), 298–313.
Kim, Y. K. (2016). Fashion image: Interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to portfolio presentation. Iowa State University Digital Press.
Kochar, S. (2021). Network ties and their effect on employee collaboration in enterprise social networks. Signature.
Lai, E. R. (2011). Motivation: A literature review. Person Research’s Report, 6, 40-41.
Roschelle, J., & Teasley, S. D. (1995). The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem solving. Springer.
Sampson, E. (2018). The cleaved garment: The maker, the wearer and the “me and not me” of fashion practice. Fashion Theory, 22(3), 341-360.
Simoes, I., & Ribeiro, M. M. (2019). Collaborative learning in fashion education. In Engaging with Fashion (pp. 149–162). Brill.
Vygotsky L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Zeagler, C., Audy, S., Pobiner, S., Profita, H., Gilliland, S., & Starner, T. (2013, June). The electronic textile interface workshop: Facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration. In 2013 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS): Social Implications of Wearable Computing and Augmediated Reality in Everyday Life (pp. 76-85). IEEE.
