Developing Creative Thinking in STEM Education through Design- Based Learning

Creativity is one of the fundamental skills of the 21st century and has become a crucial task in education. This article provides a definition of creative thinking manifested in generating novel, unique, and valuable ideas and solutions to address posed problems. Characteristics of creativity such as fluency, originality, flexibility, and elaboration serve as indicators to evaluate the level of creativity in products of the engineering design process. Recognizing the importance of creativity in a dynamic world, creative education has been integrated into the mainstream education curriculum through the implementation of STEM teaching. Following this, the concept of design-based learning has been introduced as a STEM teaching approach based on integrating the engineering design process into classrooms, allowing learners to apply scientific and technological knowledge and skills to complex real-life problems. Finally, research in STEM education through the engineering design process to enhance learners' creative thinking has been synthesized. The aim is to provide ideas and guidance for teachers in organizing STEM teaching, aligning with the goal of fostering creativity for citizens in the digital age.