A Program Based on Biomimicry Design Model to Develop Design Thinking Mindset Among Pre-Service Science Teachers during Field Training and Its Effectiveness in Developing Sustainable Thinking Skills among Preparatory School Students

The current research aimed to develop design thinking mindset and knowledge related to biomimicry and its applications among pre-service science teachers during field training through a proposed program on biomimicry and its applications in science education, based on Biomimicry Design Model, and Measuring its effectiveness in developing sustainable thinking skills among preparatory school students while teaching a science unit for first-year preparatory students in the first semester of the 2024/2025 academic year. Accordingly, a research sample of 85 third-year students from the Faculty of Education, Zagazig University, specializing in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, was selected, along with a sample of 68 first-year preparatory school students, who were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The research tools included a Design Thinking Mindset Scale, a knowledge related to biomimicry and its applications Test, and a Sustainable Thinking Skills Test. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design, using a one-group pre-post test design for pre-service science teachers and a two-group pre-post test design for preparatory school students. The results indicated a statistically significant improvement (at the 0.01 level) in the post-test performance of the research group students compared to their pre-test performance in terms of developing design thinking mindset and knowledge related to biomimicry and its applications. Additionally, the results showed that the experimental group students outperformed both their pre-test scores and the control group students with a statistically significant difference (at the 0.01 level) in developing their sustainable thinking skills.