Enhancing undergraduate creative thinking through a constructivist mobile learning application: Design, development, and evaluation

Abstract

The deficiency of advanced cognitive abilities, especially creative thinking, among Thai students is a considerable difficulty within the educational system. This study aimed to design, develop, and evaluate a mobile application based on constructivist learning principles to enhance creative thinking among undergraduate students. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research was conducted in two phases. First, the mobile application’s elements were designed based on input from 100 undergraduate students and nine experts through interviews and surveys. Second, a quasi-experimental design with 100 undergraduate students (50 experimental, 50 control) was used to assess the application’s effectiveness. The developed mobile application incorporated six core components: problem base, learning resources, scaffolding, center for collaborative learning, coach, and creative thinking center. Quantitative analysis revealed statistically significant improvements in creative thinking scores for the experimental group across all four dimensions: fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration (p < .001), with large effect sizes (η² ranging from 0.73 to 0.85). Qualitative data from student interviews corroborated these findings, highlighting the application’s role in fostering rapid idea generation, adaptive thinking, originality, and detailed idea development. This study contributes new insights into the effective use of mobile applications for enhancing creative thinking in higher education settings. The findings demonstrate the potential of technology-enhanced learning environments based on constructivist principles to promote critical thinking and knowledge construction. Future research should explore long-term impacts, cross-cultural applicability, and potential adaptations for diverse educational contexts.