This study explores the influence of an interdisciplinary intervention on creative problem-solving skills. Literature deems such skills as vital for software engineering (SE) students in higher education. 39 SE students and graphic design (GD) students were randomly paired to work on an open-ended creative coding assignment in p5.js, an online JS-based Processing editor that makes it easy for novices to quickly and easily code visual webpages. Three categories were formed: the test group SE+GD (18 students), and control groups SE+SE (10) and GD+GD (11). A mixed methods approach was taken to gather and interpret results: Amabile's Consensual Assessment Technique provided a global creativity score for the finished product, the Creative Programming Problem Solving Test assessed three dimensions of the creative process (Ability, Mindset, Interaction), and 9 semi-structured follow-up interviews provided context and revealed underlying themes. The results indicate that, while the creativity of the end product initially takes a hit, the SE+GD groups' socio-interactive creativity levels increased. We also observed fixed mindsets towards creativity ("design students are more creative than we") that call for future work.

翻译：本研究探讨了跨学科干预对创造性问题解决能力的影响。文献认为，这种能力对于高等教育中的软件工程（SE）学生至关重要。39名SE学生和平面设计（GD）学生被随机配对，共同完成一项基于p5.js的开放式创意编程作业。p5.js是一款基于JavaScript的在线Processing编辑器，可让新手快速轻松地编写视觉化网页代码。研究共分为三组：实验组SE+GD（18人），对照组SE+SE（10人）及GD+GD（11人）。采用混合方法收集并解读结果：使用Amabile的共识评估技术对最终作品进行全局创造力评分；借助创意编程问题解决测试评估创意过程的三个维度（能力、思维模式、互动）；并通过9次半结构化后续访谈提供背景信息并揭示潜在主题。结果表明，虽然最终作品的创意性起初受到一定影响，但SE+GD群体的社会互动创造力水平有所提升。我们还观察到针对创意活动的固定思维模式（如“设计专业学生比我们更有创造力”），这为未来研究提出了方向。