Validation of a design thinking mindset questionnaire with Thai elementary teachers

Abstract

Due to a recent educational reform in Thailand, elementary teachers are challenged to use an engineering design process as an instructional approach to STEM education. This would require them to have a design thinking mindset (DTM) as a basic requirement. However, it has been argued that it is difficult to measure DTM using a questionnaire. Therefore, there has been little information if Thai elementary teachers possess DTM. This study aimed to develop and validate a Thai version of DTM questionnaire with two groups of Thai elementary teachers (N=138). Successively determinding Cronbach's alpha values with each group of the teachers, six components of DTM were suggested. These components included (1) Being comfortable with problems, (2) User empathy, (3) Mindfulness of the process, (4) Collaborative working with diversity, (5) Orientation to learning, and (6) Creative confidence. While this result may need to be comfirmed with a larger population of teachers, a Thai version of the questionnaire can be potentially used to explore Thai elementary teachers' DTM in other contexts.