Incorporating the 6E Model Integrated with Creative Thinking Strategies into STEAM Education: Enhancing Children’s Fine Motor Skills, Hands-on Performance, and Learning Behaviors

High-quality STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) activities can promote the development of children’s motor skills, creativity, and hands-on performance. However, to acquire and integrate STEAM knowledge, kindergarten educators need to adopt effective teaching strategies to teach STEAM concepts, fine motor skills, hands-on performance, and creative thinking in their classrooms. This study combined creative thinking strategies with the 6E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Engineer, Enrich, and Evaluate) model in STEAM education to develop two hands-on activities aimed at enhancing children’s performance in STEAM learning. Through purposive sampling, five kindergarten classes totaling 75 children aged five to six years were selected as effective samples. Participants were divided into an experimental group (EG), which received Williams’ (1972) creative thinking strategies and the 6E model, and a control group (CG), which received traditional lecturing strategies. The results showed that children in both the EG and CG improved their fine motor skills. In terms of hands-on performance, children in the EG outperformed those in the CG, demonstrating that EG children learned application and exploration strategies through Williams’ creative thinking strategies and the 6E model, thereby showing better performance in hands-on activities. Additionally, the study found that incorporating hands-on activities into the curriculum was beneficial for both the development of children’s fine motor skills and their creativity, emphasizing the importance of fostering children’s fine motor skills and creativity through STEAM activities, which is crucial for their development and learning.