Curriculum Development for an Additional Course in Chinese as a Foreign Language to Promote Creative Thinking for Upper Elementary Students at Wat Sam Ngam School

Abstract

This research aims to: (1) develop an additional course in Chinese as a Foreign Language to enhance the creativity of upper elementary students at Wat Sam Ngam School, and (2) examine the effects of implementing the additional course in Chinese as a Foreign Language on students' academic achievement in Chinese, creative thinking ability, and satisfaction. The sample group consisted of 56 fourth-grade students at Wat Sam Ngam School during the first semester of the 2024 academic year. The research instruments included: (1) a draft of the additional Chinese as a Foreign Language course to promote creativity among upper elementary students at Wat Sam Ngam School, (2) an evaluation form for the additional Chinese as a Foreign Language course, (3) an achievement test for the Chinese as a Foreign Language course, (4) a creativity test for fourth-grade students, and (5) a student satisfaction survey regarding the learning experience in the Chinese course. Data analysis utilized basic statistical values, including percentage, arithmetic mean , standard deviation (S.D.), and Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC).

         The research findings revealed that: (1) the additional Chinese as a Foreign Language course to enhance students’ creativity consisted of curriculum principles, objectives, course descriptions, course structure, and lesson plans; (2) students' academic achievement in the Chinese course had an average score of 75.19%; (3) the overall evaluation of students' creativity showed an average of 73.33%; and (4) the overall student satisfaction with the Chinese course was at a high level ( = 4.44, S.D. = 0.97).