Developing Innovative Thinking Skill by Integrating Knowledge with the Work of Students in the Graduate Certificate Program in Teacher Profession

Abstract

The research focuses on cultivating innovative thinking skills through the integration of knowledge with practical work in the Graduate Certificate Programme in Teacher Profession. Its aims are to formulate guidelines that bridge the gap between theory and practice in the context of actual school conditions, and to assess the learning outcomes of students following these guidelines. The research utilized students from the Graduate Certificate Program in Teacher Profession at the Faculty of Education, Vongchavalikul University, selected through Cluster Random Sampling within one room, comprising 29 students specializing in Innovation, Educational Technology, and Teaching Practices in schools. The research tools included a manual as a guide for developing innovative thinking skills through the integration of knowledge into practical work, developed using the EDFR future research methodology. The data collection tools comprised (1) an assessment form for the development of key learning outcomes related to students' creativity and innovation, exhibiting an Index of Item - Objective Congruence (IOC) between 0.80-1.00 and a Cronbach's Alpha reliability value of .974; and (2) an innovative thinking skill assessment form with a Cronbach's Alpha reliability value of .982. The statistical hypothesis was tested using an F-test with Two-Way Analysis of Variance, and pair comparisons were conducted using the Least Significant Difference (LSD).

The results indicated as 1) Consensus among the 11 participants involved in the study affirmed the guidelines for developing innovative thinking skills through the integration of knowledge into the work of students in the Graduate Certificate Program in Teacher Professions. The agreed-upon criteria emphasize providing integrated learning experiences as a sandwich course. The development of innovative thinking skills comprises two phases: the first phase involves recognizing and appreciating the importance of innovative thinking, and preparing a mindset. The second phase consists of specific steps, namely identifying needs, brainstorming, creating prototype innovation, testing the innovation, and evaluating the innovation until a teaching innovation is identified. 2)Student Learning Outcomes: Evaluation results for key learning outcomes related to students' creativity, innovation development, and innovative thinking skills were conducted before, during, and after the development of innovative thinking skills. The mean scores before development were 3.46 and 3.43, during development were 4.17 and 4.18, and after development were 4.83 and 4.84, with a full score of 5, respectively. The obtained scores exhibited significant differences at the 0.05 level, indicating that the mean scores after the development of innovative thinking skills were higher than the mean scores both before and during the development at the 0.05 level.