Illuminating the Palace Lantern: Enhancing High School Students’ Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving Ability Through OBE-STEAM Activities

This article employs the OBE-STEAM (Outcome-Based Education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) educational framework through the “Illuminating the Palace Lantern” initiative, with the objective of fostering creative thinking and problem-solving ability among high school students. By engaging in the hands-on design and fabrication of traditional palace lanterns, students not only acquire interdisciplinary knowledge but also immerse themselves in various chemical concepts, including colloidal science, acid–base reactions, structural chemistry, and spectroscopy. The findings indicate a marked enhancement in students’ propensity for risk-taking and curiosity within the realm of innovation, as well as their active engagement and sense of personal agency in tackling problems. These results underscore the significant potential of the OBE-STEAM approach in advancing students’ comprehension and application of chemical knowledge, offering a promising avenue for the evolution of educational paradigms in the future.