The relationships among learning engagement, continuous improvement attitude and creativity performance: a study based on a C-STEAM course

Introduction: In the context of new quality productive forces in China, promoting innovative transformation of local culture by using high levels of technology has become a hot topic. However, there have been few empirical studies exploring the influence of interdisciplinary cultural inheritance and innovation on students' learning outcomes. Hence, in this study, we recruited 130 students from a higher vocational college in China, for whom a local culture-based science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (C-STEAM) art and design course was established. Methods: By adopting a single-group pre-post intervention design, a model comprising seven hypotheses based on learning engagement theory was developed. To understand the cognitive and emotional responses of students after taking the course, the learning engagement scale and continuous improvement attitude scale were utilized. Creativity performance analysis was used as a measuring tool to gain insights into the changes in students' knowledge and skills, as well as the overall learning effectiveness after their participation in the course. Results: According to the research results, receiving 72 h of theoretical and practical packaging training positively influenced the students' interdisciplinary literacy and continuous improvement attitudes. Students with higher learning engagement showed better continuous improvement attitude and creativity performance, and students with better continuous improvement attitude had better creativity presentation. Discussion: By maximizing the close integration of interdisciplinary knowledge into the teaching subject, this study promotes the high-precision cultivation of art talents, provides support for the academic community from an art design perspective, and innovates the inheritance and development of Chinese culture.