Integrating The STEM-DT Model to Enhance Students' Creative Disposition and Creative Products Through a Water Filtration Project

Education in the modern era requires students to have high creative skills to face the challenges of a complex world. However, the lack of teaching learning models that foster students' creativity is a common problem in classroom learning. This research aims to explore the impact of the STEM-DT (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-Design Thinking) learning model on students' creative disposition and creative products. A quasi-experimental design was used, involving two groups: an experimental class using the STEM-DT learning model and a control class employing conventional teaching methods. The participants consisted of 52 junior high school students. Instruments included a creative disposition questionnaire and a rubric for evaluating creative products. Data were analyzed using t-tests, Cohen's d calculations, and N-Gain measurements. The results indicated a significant difference in average creative disposition between the control and experimental classes, with a t-test significance value of 0.040 and Cohen's d effect size of 0.586 (medium category). The average N-Gain score of creative disposition in the experimental class reached 0.1213, while in the control class, it was 0.0508, showing greater improvement in the experimental group. Additionally, the average creative product score in the control class was 48.89%, categorized as moderately creative, while the experimental class scored 84.07%, categorized as highly creative. The findings suggest that the STEM-DT learning model significantly enhances students' creative disposition and the quality of innovative products, providing essential preparation for younger generations to navigate the complexity and dynamics of global change.