Creativity and knowledge management are both important competences that university students need to strive to develop. This study therefore developed and evaluated an instructional program for improving university students’ creativity based on a blended knowledge-management (KM) model that integrates e-learning and three core processes of KM: knowledge sharing, knowledge internalization, and knowledge creation. Moreover, this study investigated the underlying mechanisms that achieve the effectiveness of this model. A 17-week instructional program was conducted. The findings from both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest the following. The blended KM model is effective in improving knowledge, dispositions, and abilities of creativity. The online sharing and evaluation of creative products, learning communities and discussions, and the practice of creativity strategies have substantial effects on all three aspects of creativity. The observation and peer evaluation of group assignments and creativity-related feedback enhance the learning of knowledge and dispositions. Finally, the creation of products and scaffolding of a teacher are critical to skill improvement.
Recently, the cultivation of university students’ creativity has been greatly emphasized. It has been suggested that creativity requires not only the application and sharing of knowledge but also the creation of knowledge (Gurteen, 1998). Knowledge management (KM), which is mainly characterized by knowledge sharing and knowledge creation (Alavi and Leidner, 2001 and Ungaretti and Tillberg-Webb, 2011), has therefore become an important strategy for enhancing personal creativity. Methods for improving university students’ creativity via a KM-based training, however, have scarcely been studied.
KM depends on several core competencies, including the acquisition of knowledge and storage, knowledge application, knowledge sharing, and knowledge creation (Alavi & Leidner, 2001). KM also emphasizes the integration of technologies (Gurteen, 1998 and Schmidt, 2005). Recently, many information technology industries and educational institutions have attempted to integrate a blended knowledge management (KM) model into their human-resource training program and curriculum (e.g., Alony et al., 2007, Choi and Lee, 2003 and Ferguson et al., 2005). While some models emphasize knowledge sharing (e.g., Alavi and Leidner, 2001, Bartol and Abhishek, 2002, Earl, 2001 and Gagné, 2009), others value knowledge creation (e.g., Imani, 2007). However, only a few models emphasize the importance of internalization (e.g., Nonaka and Kenney, 1991 and Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Internalization is a key process of cognitive learning (Vygotsky, 1986); it refers to the process of transforming explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Moreover, it has been found that a blended learning approach that combines classroom instruction and e-learning is more effective than a pure e-learning approach (Osguthorpe & Graham, 2003). Accordingly, this study aimed to develop as well as to evaluate a blended KM-based training program for improving university students’ creativity. In this model, knowledge sharing, internalization, and creation were emphasized and e-learning was integrated into classroom teaching. Moreover, this study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms that might achieve the effectiveness of the proposed blended KM model.
Creativity and knowledge management are both regarded as key components for success in this epoch. In educational settings, KM studies that focus on improving creativity are still developing. Past KM studies, especially those that involve training, seldom emphasize the importance of knowledge internalization. This study therefore developed a blended KM instructional model that integrates e-learning with knowledge sharing, internalization, and creation to improve university students’ creativity. The positive effects obtained from both the qualitative and quantitative data not only support the effectiveness of this model but also help clarify the underlying mechanisms of such success. In addition, this study is unique in that it seeks to improve creativity from its three key elements (knowledge, dispositions, and skills) rather than focusing only on one aspect. The study's findings also suggest that these three key elements can be simultaneously enhanced to optimize the learning effect of creativity.
Due to the difficulty of getting a control group to finish all the pretests and posttests, this study employed a before-and-after design. To compensate for this disadvantage, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. The highly consistent results of these two approaches suggest that the findings in this study are reliable and valid. Future studies, however, may validate the findings of this study by adding a control group. Moreover, it has been suggested that creativity is crucial to knowledge sharing and creation. For example, Basadur and Gelade (2006) claimed that adaptability and flexibility are important for efficient knowledge sharing and creating. Adaptability refers to the seeking out of new problems, information, and technologies and using these resources to create new products. Flexibility, on the other hand, refers to changing risk events into opportunities via the achievement of goals in new ways. Sie, Bitter-Rijpkema, Sloep, and Retalis (2009) also argued that the system integrates creative techniques and pedagogical strategies into KM that are the most effective types for knowledge sharing. This study examines how KM influences creativity. Further studies may conversely investigate how creativity influences KM.
