Abstract:

The Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF: HEd) focused on enhancing learner’s cognitive skills. Besides the collaborative learning skills and communication skills that instructor emphasizes, creative thinking of higher education students is pointed up as one of the desirable skill. Teaching and learning of higher education nowaday is using various online approach, some courses are designed as a blended learning. Virtual learning environments are being used as part or main learning atmosphere. The survey was conducted and collected data from 38 instructors and 497 undergraduate students in the design and media production area. With the intention of determining if the effective teaching in both on-campus and virtual learning environments are different among instructors and students, the survey also took into account the opinions of using blended learning, teaching strategies and learning activities, instructional media and online tools, and criteria of creative thinking evaluation. Activities, which instructors used for enhancing creative thinking and were used 76-100% of learning activities, were:
1) provided flexible and friendly environment in order to encourage learner’s confidence to think ability and assertiveness of learners,
2) assigned learners to search current/ up to date knowledge from modern learning resources,
3) used group process for supporting learning procedures.

While, students identified more activities that instructors used and strengthened their creative thinking were:
1) peer assessment,
2) assigned learner to present continuing work, and
3) used some techniques to organize and guide learner’s thinking such as brainstorming, reflective writing, and mind mapping.

Teaching techniques for enhancing creative thinking have been used by most instructors consisted of brainstorming, Wh-question, and problem solving. While, most unfamiliar techniques were Plus-Minus-Interesting (PMI) and SCAMPER. Online tools have been used in teaching and learning consisted of social media, e-mail, discussion board, and chat room respectively. In addition, most instructors tended to use Moodle as learning management system in virtual classroom environment. As the popular of social media is accepted in higher education, the survey showed e-mail is ordinary as the most communication tools instructors use to contact their learners. This study suggests the social learning platform such as Edmodo and Schoology for instructors as an alternative tools for setting up the virtual learning classroom.

Keywords:

Teaching strategies, creative thinking, virtual learning environment.