Adoption of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) in The Malaysia Education Policy and Curriculum for STEM Subject

Abstract

The STEM body of knowledge has become a core focus for the Ministry of Education of Malaysia to be embedded in the mainstream education curriculum but one of the challenges is to improve the level of student competency in problem-solving skills. A new policy has been developed at the governmental level to ensure the change can be successfully made and executed successfully at the school level. One of the initiatives is to enhance the complex problem-solving skills of the students by introducing the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) topic in the Curriculum and Assessment Standard Document for Design and technology subject. The integration of the TRIZ is streamlined with other creativity theories and thinking models. The adoption of TRIZ is strategically designed to support and complement the student in developing a technological project and design competencies. The teaching and learning process of TRIZ in the subject has started in 2018 as the first official textbook has been used in all schools around Malaysia. A survey has been carried out to 1032 respondents that involved in the process of teaching and learning the TRIZ topic in the subject. The result has shown positive feedback from respondents, and further issues have been highlighted to improve the process of teaching and learning in school.