TAF PUBLISHING

Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), which emerged from Russia in the 1960s, has been introduced to Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TARUC) since 2011 to train undergraduate and pre-university students in problem solving. This paper takes a step away from conventional TRIZ literature by exploring the benefits and challenges of teaching TRIZ to pre-university students. The study serves as a preliminary study of the TRIZ program and uses quantitative and qualitative methods on 28 students to gauge the effectiveness of TRIZ tools in supporting problem finding and idea finding in solving complex ill-structured problems. Descriptive analysis shows the improvement in problem finding, idea finding, and overall problem solving after the TRIZ program. The benefits of each TRIZ tool in problem finding and idea finding were uncovered through the open-ended survey. Students also reported the benefits and challenges of learning TRIZ. This paper is potentially useful for TRIZ instructors on how to effectively teach TRIZ to pre-university students.