Development of Experience-Based Activities to Promote Design Thinking Among Students in The Field of Early Childhood Education

Abstract

            The objectives of this research were: 1) to study the concepts and guidelines for developing an experiential learning instructional model; 2) to develop experiential learning activities to enhance the design thinking of pre-service teachers in Early Childhood Education; 3) to implement the developed experiential learning activities; and 4) to evaluate student satisfaction towards the activities. The sample consisted of 24 students from the Faculty of Education, Phetchabun Rajabhat University, enrolled in the second semester of the 2023 academic year, selected through cluster random sampling. The research instruments included: 1) a questionnaire on concepts and guidelines for experiential learning models; 2) an evaluation form for activity development;                        3) a design thinking assessment scale; and 4) a satisfaction evaluation form. The research findings were as follows: The fundamental data analysis suggested that instructional planning and goal setting are essential, and emphasis should be placed on practical application using diverse techniques. The developed experiential learning activities comprised five stages: (1) Concrete Experience, (2) Planning, (3) Experience Creation, (4) Application of Knowledge, and (5) Knowledge Sharing. The results of the implementation indicated that the students’ design thinking scores after participating in the activities were significantly higher than those before the intervention at a .05 level of statistical significance. The overall satisfaction of the students towards the experiential learning activities was at the highest level (\bar{X} = 4.67, S.D. = 0.37).