The Effectiveness of the Design Thinking Model in Developing Aesthetic Judgment Skills among Students of the Art Education Department

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the Design Thinking Model in developing Aesthetic Judgment Skills among fourth-year students in the Department of Art Education, College of Fine Arts, University of Baghdad, enrolled in the Art Appreciation and Criticism course during the academic year (2025–2026). The researcher adopted an experimental method using an equivalent experimental-control group design. The study population consisted of (80) students distributed across four classes. Classes (A) and (B), comprising (45) students, were assigned as the experimental group, while classes (C) and (D), comprising (35) students, formed the control group. To achieve the study objective, the researcher developed an Aesthetic Judgment Skills Test consisting of (30) multiple-choice items. The instrument was examined for validity and reliability, and its psychometric properties were verified before administration. The experimental group was taught using the Design Thinking Model, whereas the control group received instruction through the conventional teaching method. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. After the intervention, the post-test was administered, and the collected data were analyzed using the independent-samples t-test, Cronbach’s Alpha, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and item difficulty and discrimination indices. The findings revealed statistically significant differences at the (0.05) level in favor of the experimental group, indicating that the Design Thinking Model was effective in developing students’ aesthetic judgment skills. Based on these findings, the study recommends adopting the Design Thinking Model in teaching Art Appreciation and Criticism courses, providing training programs for art education instructors, and conducting further studies to examine its effectiveness with other educational and artistic variables.