Empirical Evidence: Elementary School Design Curriculum Development Based on Associative Thinking

Abstract

With the global emphasis on innovative design education, the cultivation of innovative talents has become a fundamental breakthrough point in China's response to the "creativity crisis" and the promotion of "Made in China" to "Intelligent Manufacturing in China". In order to fundamentally solve the problem of the lack of innovative talents in the process of talent training, improving the design consciousness and ability of young people in the basic education stage gradually highlights its necessity and urgency. The purpose of this research is to use design thinking as a methodology to support the cultivation of creative abilities, and to provide students with a systematic way of thinking and process tools through design courses to help improve students' cognitive skills and creativity. This research reviews children's cognitive sources and characteristics from the perspective of cognitive physiological grassroots development, and discusses the role of association in the design process, which serves as the support of the design process. This research proposes a curriculum design framework model based on associative thinking, and develops the curriculum accordingly. Through the practice of curriculum in multiple primary schools and the multi-dimensional evaluation of the core literacy of students participating in the design of the curriculum, the theoretical model has been shown to improve the innovation ability. This research fills the gap in domestic design education at the basic stage. The developed design curriculum and integrated design thinking model are of great academic value and reference significance to the research of domestic design education development.