Influence of Design Thinking Performance on Children's Creative Problem-solving Skills: An Estimation through Regression Analysis

Abstract

This study examined the interaction of design thinking performance and creative problem-solving skills, with 89 pre-school and primary school children who attended the Architectural Design Education Program in Ankara, Turkey in the academic year 2011-2012. After each teaching session in the program, the children were assigned a performance task, which required them to solve problems involving real-life situations by creating two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) products. Each child kept their task-specific products in a “creative solutions portfolio”. Each product in the portfolio was scored according to analytical rubrics, as a result of which indicators of both sub-dimensions (2D and 3D) and composite skills were obtained related to the children’s creative problem-solving skills. Furthermore, a holistic rubric was used to assess the children’s product and process performances throughout the teaching process with regard to three development areas of design thinking, i.e. basic design properties and competency, creative and visual approach in design, interdisciplinarity and cross-questioning in design. The design thinking performance was hypothesized to predict the three indicators of creative problem-solving skills of children. The findings of the regression analysis indicate that the data are consistent with the model proposed, and the results provide tentative support to the notion that design thinking performance might influence the creative problem-solving skills of children as expected. It is concluded, based on the results, that educational activities for competency/development in design thinking performance may allow children to produce creative solutions for real-life problems, and hence activities that teach how to express solutions in 2D and 3D forms may be incorporated into education programs that aim to develop creative problem-solving skills.