Development of a Functional Aesthetic Integration Model through the Thinking School Approach to Enhance Creative Thinking Skills and Cultural Identity Awareness of Long Drum Arts among Elementary School Students

Abstract

This research and development study aimed 1) to develop a Functional Aesthetic Integration Model for learning management; and 2) to investigate the effects of the model on students’ creative thinking skills and their awareness of the cultural identity of long drum arts among elementary school students. The study was conducted in two phases: Phase 1 involved the development of the model, and Phase 2 examined the effects of its implementation using a pre-experimental design with a one-shot case study. The sample consisted of 13 Grade 6 students from Huai Yang Wittayasan School, Ubolrat District, Khon Kaen Province, with purposive sampling. The research instruments included four integrated lesson plans totaling 8 instructional hours, a creative thinking skills assessment consisting of four dimensions with 5 points for each dimension, and a 10-item local cultural identity awareness assessment based on a five-point rating scale. The data were analyzed using percentages, means, standard deviation, and content analysis. The findings indicated that the Functional Aesthetic Integration Model comprised four major stages: DO NOW, PURPOSE, WORK MODE (Explore, Decode, and Create), and REFLECTIVE THINKING. Expert evaluation showed that the model was appropriate at the highest level. Following the implementation of the model, the students demonstrated creative thinking skills at the highest level (M = 16.54, SD = 1.85), while their awareness of local cultural identity was also at the highest level (M = 4.82, SD = 0.35). The students were able to connect the values of long drum culture to real-life contexts through reflective thinking processes. An important finding was that the use of Thinking Tools effectively transformed abstract cultural concepts into concrete understanding and repositioned learners as “cultural meaning-makers.”