This research is sponsored by Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC)
The application of creative thinking skills and integrate them into training courses in technical colleges: a proposed model
Dr. Abdullah Al-Beraidi
Executive Summary
Creativity is a fundamental feature of pioneering achievements in all scientific and technological fields, and this emphasizes the significance of supporting creative thinking skills of trainees in order to prepare highly qualified national manpower. Therefore, many countries have paid more attention to develop special courses for creative thinking skills or infusing these skills into regular curriculum courses, especially numerous studies have confirmed the positive impact of having such courses. Considering the issue of infusing creative thinking skills among the developmental agenda of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation TVTC can be viewed as a strategic decision signifying a type of entrepreneurship at the level of Technical and Vocational Organizations, and as a smart response to dynamic changes in the technological environment in its differing grounds, and all the aforementioned will be effective to improve the competency of technological colleges' graduated trainees and increase their abilities to adapt successfully with the requirements and conditions of technological occupations.
Research achieved its objectives through seven methodological steps: (1) planning and preparation for the study comprising detailed plans and time schedules; (2) collecting the required data including the literature review and filed visits to the UK, Jordan and local organization in Saudi Arabia; (3) identifying the appropriate curriculum to infuse creative thinking skills in its training material subject to that this curriculum is a practical-oriented course; (4) formulating the objectives of the infusion of creative thinking skills and identifying the detailed items of scientific material of these skills with a continuous discussion with the trainer of the curriculum; (5) developing the content of scientific material to infuse creative thinking skills into the selected curriculum including the identification of the most suitable means and approaches to reformulate exercises, case studies and applications as well as suggesting a comprehensive training program to qualify technological colleges' trainers in the field of training on creative thinking skills and some recommendations are put forward and could be of value to the success of such program; (6) preparing progressive reports throughout conducting the research; (7) preparing the final report of the study, which embodies the most important findings as regard to infusing creative thinking skills in one of the curriculum courses with a fully description of the infusion process and its procedural steps in the light of the practical model of this study and recommendations and suggestions of the research committee. The selecting curriculum was "Programmable Logical Controller, PLC" in Electrical Technology Department. The final report includes three appendices: (1) the training material of PLC "theoretical" , (2) the training material of PLC "practical", (3) a guiding practical manual, showing how to infuse creative thinking skills into the rest of curriculum courses in technological colleges using the "step-by-step" approach.