By ERIK SCHUCKERS
Pitt’s Center for Creativity (C4C) partnered with faculty to incorporate creative experiences into 85 classes during the 2024-25 academic year, and 40 class sessions are already on the calendar for this fall. From public health to literature, information science to education, faculty across disciplines have found that hands-on making can unlock deeper student learning and involvement.
Instructors can ask for one of the center’s standard programs or work with C4C staff to customize programs for specific learning outcomes. In her “Health Equity in the U.S. Health System” course, Amy Raslevich of the School of Public Health collaborated with the C4C on creative modules that helped students explore systemic health challenges through tactile, reflective activities.
During a session on sex disparities, students participated in a quilting activity and explored the historical significance of quilting bees as women-centered spaces for communication, support and empowerment. In another, students painted a clay piece crafted by one of their classmates without the input of its creator, reflecting the loss of autonomy often experienced by those with behavioral health conditions.
“The creative sessions helped students understand the class materials in new and interesting ways,” Raslevich said. “They challenged students to appreciate the development of these systems and to bring new perspectives to promote equity.”
A collaboration between the University Library System, Open Lab and the Center for Creativity introduced another unique learning opportunity: an immersive exploration of Japanese woodblock printing. Blending art, history and hands-on practice, the program invites students to examine original prints from Pitt’s Archives and Special Collections and explore the techniques behind their creation.
Developed in response to a request by Raja Adal of the Dietrich School’s Department of History, the program was created by the University Library System’s Dan Kaple, Hiroyuki Good and Runxiao Zhu; Open Lab’s Will Hinson; and the Center for Creativity’s Shannon Fink.
Using a mix of traditional and digital methods, students use 3D-printed replica blocks of archival images to ink their own prints and try their hand at carving woodblocks with hand tools, gaining a direct, tactile understanding of this centuries-old craft.
Popular standard programs designed to integrate creativity with academic goals include, but are not limited to:
• Six Word Stories: Students team up to craft and letterpress micro-narratives, combining communication, collaboration, and project management and technical skills.
• Podcasting 101: An introduction to audio storytelling as a way to communicate complex ideas and research with broad audiences.
• Breaking Creative Blocks: A guided exploration of simple, energizing exercises designed to boost focus and creative problem-solving for classes that involve writing, research or group work.
Jennifer Waldron of the Department of English has brought her “Making the Book” class for a number of standard programs. The visits, she said, “were critical to their understanding of the history of the book” because they could “experience first-hand what it was like to set movable type by hand and print it using techniques that go back to the 15th century.”
The experience also highlighted for students “the central theme of the course, which is that the form in which we communicate information influences its meaning along multiple axes: usability, affordability, emotional and visual impact.”
Feedback from faculty and instructors on these sessions is overwhelmingly positive. In feedback surveys, 96% “strongly agree” that C4C sessions contributed to curriculum goals and sustained student attention and interest.
To learn more about partnering with the C4C for your winter/spring term courses, visit creative.pitt.edu or email creative@pitt.edu.
Erik Schuckers is the programming and communications manager for the Center for Creativity. The center’s resources are available to all Pitt staff, faculty and students.