The Impact of Hands-on Activities Integrating Design Thinking on the Creative Self-efficacy and Learning Performance of Junior High School Students: A Case of Producing Solar Battery Charger

Abstract

Design thinking can foster creativity in learners, and creative self-efficacy can be a measure of creativity. This study was to examine the impact of the solar charger hands-on activities integrating design thinking on the progress of the creative self-efficacy and learning performance of junior high school students. We integrated design thinking into the solar charger hands-on activities. Participants were 82 eighth grade junior high school students in Taipei. The instruments used in the study were the Design Thinking Scale, the Creative Self-Efficacy Scale, the Prior Knowledge Test, and the Learning Performance Test. A pretest of prior knowledge and a pretest of creative self-efficacy were administered before the teaching experiment, and a posttest of design thinking, creative self-efficacy, and learning performance were administered after the teaching experiment. Students’ creative self-efficacy and performance were enhanced by engaging in hands-on activities, but the design of the hands-on activities and delivery of activities needed to be improved. At the end of the paper, implications for theory and practice are presented.