The practice of visual storytelling in STEM: Influence of creative thinking training on design students’ creative self-efficacy and motivation

Abstract

This study investigated design students’ self-efficacy and motivation through a visual storytelling project in STEM. Forty-eight college design students participated in this study. The project-based learning method was adopted for both groups, while the test group received additional creative thinking training in the curriculum. Pre- and post-surveys and interviews were administered to obtain the students’ perspectives. Evaluation and analysis of the works were also implemented to reveal the learning outcomes. The results showed significant differences in the students’ creative self-efficacy and project performance. The test group's creative self-efficacy improved at the semester's end, while the control group mostly stayed at a similar level. Also, the test group with creative thinking training in the curriculum compared to the control group demonstrated significantly better project grades. Regarding motivation, both groups had similar levels of motivation in the pre and post-surveys. There was no significant difference between different instructional designs in terms of students’ motivation. Nevertheless, with fundamental visual storytelling training and practices in both groups, the high-performance works revealed more creative analogical expressions and related scientific knowledge, while the medium and low-performance works showed limited analogy or partially correct knowledge in STEM. Implications and suggestions are provided for curriculum design to enhance students’ creative self-efficacy and motivation in interdisciplinary learning.