ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to present some basic principles and strategies for developing the creative thought and inventive ability of engineering students. These principles and strategies can be introduced inside or alongside conventional lectures and can be adopted to form a style of work at any problem solving session in class. This style of work consists in a gradual questioning and answering on the main ideas, notions and facts involved in the given problem, which is in fact the typical working behaviour of any researcher. Our approach is directed mainly at the engineering mathematics and it consists in shaping metacognitive skills and inventive abilities by training students to learn to solve problems in a creative manner. Such active and creative learning can be adapted to various other technical and non-technical subjects in the engineering curriculum.
