According to the age-old proverb from Plato’s Republic: necessity is the mother of invention, the main motivation for creating new discoveries is the need for them. However, as well as the necessity factor, we argue that a very important aspect that influences invention and creativity is the empathy factor. This mixed methods research investigated the impact of empathy instruction on the social and emotional skills of creativity in the UK Design and Technology (D&T) classroom. Pupils in year 9 (aged 13 to 14 years) from two schools were assessed for their creativity levels using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) both at the start and at the end of the academic school year. In the intervening period, whereas the control school continued as normal with its usual D&T lessons, the intervention school’s D&T lessons were replaced by a creativity tuition kit called Designing Our Tomorrow (DOT), which involves instruction in empathising. Pupils from year 7 (aged 11 to 12 years) in a third school were given the DOT task alone and interviewed about their experiences of it. Results showed that unlike the control school, whose emotional and cognitive creative scores in fact decreased over time, the intervention school increased in its levels of emotional and cognitive creativity, as measured by the TTCT. These quantitative as well as the subsequent qualitative interview findings and pupils’ portfolios suggest that creativity can be taught and particularly via instruction that advocates the importance of empathising with the subject matter. The findings are discussed in relation to the need for a holistic approach to teaching, where social, emotional and cognitive dimensions of teaching and learning are needed to complete and enhance the learning experience for the D&T classroom and beyond.

根据柏拉图共和国的古老谚语：必要性是发明之母，创造新发现的主要动机是对它们的需求。但是，除了必要性因素外，我们认为影响发明和创造力的一个非常重要的方面是共情因素。这项混合方法研究调查了共情指导对英国设计与技术（D＆T）课堂中创造力的社交和情感技能的影响。在学年开始和结束时，都使用创造性思维的托伦斯测验（TTCT）对来自两所学校的9年级（13至14岁）的学生的创造力水平进行了评估。在此期间，控制学校继续正常的D＆T课，而干预学校的D＆T课被名为Designing Our Tomorrow（DOT）的创造力辅导包所取代，该套件涉及移情指导。第三所学校的7年级（11至12岁）的学生仅接受了DOT任务，并就他们的经历进行了访谈。结果表明，与对照学校不同，根据TTCT的测量，干预学校的情感和认知创造力水平实际上随着时间的推移而下降，因此其情感和认知创造力水平有所提高。这些定量的以及随后的定性访谈发现和学生的学习档案表明，可以教授创造力，尤其是通过倡导同理心主题的教学。讨论的结果与整体教学方法的必要性有关，在教学中需要社会，情感和认知方面的教学和学习，以完善和增强D＆T课堂及以后的学习经验。这些定量的以及随后的定性访谈发现和学生的学习档案表明，可以教授创造力，尤其是通过倡导同理心主题的教学。讨论的结果与整体教学方法的必要性有关，在教学中需要社会，情感和认知方面的教学和学习，以完善和增强D＆T课堂及以后的学习经验。这些定量的以及随后的定性访谈发现和学生的学习档案表明，可以教授创造力，尤其是通过倡导同理心主题的教学。讨论的结果与整体教学方法的必要性有关，在教学中需要社会，情感和认知方面的教学和学习，以完善和增强D＆T课堂及以后的学习经验。