DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES BASED ON DESIGN THINKING TO ENHANCE CREATIVE INNOVATION SKILLS IN GRADE 6 STUDENTS ON THE TOPIC OF EARTH PHENOMENA AND NATURAL DISASTERS

Abstract

This research aimed to: 1) develop and determine the effectiveness of learning activities using the design thinking process to enhance innovative creation skills in sixth-grade students on the topic of Earth's phenomena and natural disasters; 2) examine the effects of using learning activities employing the design thinking process to foster innovative creation skills in sixth-grade students on the topic of Earth's phenomena and natural disasters; and 3) investigate student satisfaction with learning activities utilizing the design thinking process to promote innovative creation skills in sixth-grade students on the topic of Earth's phenomena and natural disasters. The sample comprised 30 students from Grade 6/1 at Anuban Thung Saliam School (Ban Mueang Na), during the second semester of the 2024 academic year. Research instruments included: 1) lesson plan; 2) A student workbook; 3) A teacher’s guide; 4) A Creative-Innovation Skills Assessment; and 5) A Student Satisfaction Questionnaire. The study employed a Research & Development (R&D) design. The learning activities were created and developed according to the five phases of the Design Thinking process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test. These activities were then piloted with the sample group. Student’s creative-innovation skills were measured before and after the intervention using the Creative-Innovation Skills Assessment, allowing comparison of pretest and posttest scores as well as post-test scores against an 80 percent criterion. The Student Satisfaction Questionnaire was administered to gauge learner’s overall satisfaction with the activities. The research findings revealed that: 1) the learning activities using the design thinking process to enhance innovative creation skills in sixth-grade students on the topic of Earth's phenomena and natural disasters had an efficiency of 82.39/80.00, which met the established criteria and demonstrated the highest level of suitability; 2) students' innovative creation skills post-learning were significantly higher than pre-learning at the .05 statistical significance level, and post-learning innovative creation skill scores were not significantly higher than the criteria; and 3) students' overall satisfaction with the learning activities was at a high level.