The Effect of Learning Management Using a Design Thinking Approach on Enhancing Innovative Thinking Skills of Pre-service Teachers: A Case Study of Islamic Studies Teaching Students

Abstract

This action research aimed to enhance innovative thinking skills among pre-service teachers majoring in Teaching Islamic Studies. The study had three objectives: 1) to examine students’ innovative thinking skills after engaging in design thinking-based learning activities, 2) to evaluate the quality of student-created learning innovations, and 3) to assess user satisfaction with those innovations. The participants were 40 undergraduate pre-service teachers enrolled in the course 762-205 Learning Management Science. The research instruments included a lesson plan based on the seven-step design thinking process, an innovative thinking skills assessment, an innovative product evaluation form, and a satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and a dependent samples t-test. Findings revealed that students’ innovative thinking skills were significantly higher after the intervention than before, at the .05 level. Among the assessed components, the highest mean score was in collaboration, followed by communication and dissemination, evaluation and conclusion, problem analysis, use of digital technology, and proposing creative solutions. The quality of student-created learning innovations was rated very high across all criteria. Creativity received the highest score, followed by value and usefulness, and the development process. User satisfaction with the innovations was also high. The highest-rated aspects were content quality, followed by usefulness, visual appeal, modernity, assessment, design, and usability, respectively. Overall, the study supports the effectiveness of the design thinking process in fostering innovative thinking and producing high-quality, user-approved educational innovations among pre-service teachers.