How to use divergent and convergent thinking to improve. Divergent thinking activities can help prime the brain for problem solving as students begin to see the ordinary in new and creative ways. These tests contrast with convergent thinking tests in which there is but a single solution, e. How to use divergent and convergent thinking to improve your. This is probably one of the easiest divergent thinking exercises for elementary kids. For each thinking skill in this book, there are two kinds of activities. Furthermore, the responses must be graded efficiently. Its probably no surprise that creativity and divergent thinking often go hand in hand. However, it is based on an approach that differs substantially from divergent thinking torrance or divergent production guilforda gestalt 5psychology theory of creativity. Divergent thinking definition and meaning collins english.
Divergent behavior in larger classrooms might cause disruption. This may limit generalizations because tests of dt are not equivalent. What is divergent thinking, how to find if you have it. Growth mindset divergent thinking skills questions. A zonal analysis showed that highly divergent children gained better scores on the creative attainment criterion than did highly convergent children. The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent. Divergent thinking training program day seven this is the last day of a sevenday program that will improve your ability to generate multiple creative solutions to problems. Divergent thinking puzzles aims center for math and science. Runco, in handbook of organizational creativity, 2012.
Divergent thinking an overview sciencedirect topics. It is a spontaneous, fluid, nonlinear mental approach based on curiosity and nonconformity. Avoid judging ideas as either bad or good in the divergentthinking phase. The threshold hypothesis was tested by relating convergent and divergent thinking at different levels of vrq, and was rejected. It focuses on divergent thinking, the ability to develop multiple ideas and concepts to solve problems. It is traditionally posed as a thought problem to be worked out in your head. Several extensive batteries are available but most research relies on one or two specific tests rather than a complete battery.
If youve hit a creative roadblock, here are a few ways to get the ideas flowing. Divergent thinking is the process of thinking that explores multiple possible solutions in order to generate creative ideas its a straight forward process that focuses on figuring out the most effective answer. Divergent thinking refers to the way the mind generates ideas beyond proscribed expectations and rote thinking what is usually referred to thinking outside the box, and is often associated with creativity. Divergent thinking dt tests are probably the most commonly used measures of creative potential. An introduction to creative thinking in architectural design. How to encourage divergent thinking elementary education. Yet, because of his thinking, fundamental tenets about the universe have changed. Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. Divergent thinking dt plays a critical role in many creative efforts. Each task will take you three minutes for a total of six minutes per day.
From the four scores of the aut, only flexibility yielded a significant main effect of session, f2,184 3. The comprehensive howto, whyto guide to running international field research projects. How to encourage divergent thinking elementary education degree. For this divergent thinking exercise, i want to challenge you to look around your office, your home, your classroom, a coworkers desk or a restaurant and select three different objects and write their fake history. For example, while we view thoreau as a divergent thinker, we might not think of einstein in quite the same way. Divergent thinking collects the responses of more than a dozen of those readers, all of whom also happen to be ya writers themselves. Divergent thinking puzzles aims center for math and. Divergent thinking, also referred to as lateral thinking, is the process of creating multiple, unique ideas or solutions related to a problem that you. On the introductory pages for each section of the book, youll find ideas for introducing and using the student reproducibles. Take a look at these projectbased ideas that can help promote both creativity and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking stands firmly on logic and less on creativity, while divergent thinking is mostly based on creativity. Modulation of convergent and divergent thinking by transcranial direct current stimulation tdcs sharon zmigrod, lorenza s. The benefits of divergent thinking are huge, especially in a day and age where employers value skills over knowledge. It is often used in conjunction with its cognitive opposite, convergent.
Index cards, each giving one step in a sequence of five directions see cards for disorder on page 85. Opennessintellect is also the best personality predictor of divergent thinking mccrae, 1987. Nov 24, 2015 divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking article pdf available in frontiers in human neuroscience 7824. Divergent thinking is more than thinking outside the box. But theres still a lot of potential to expand these techniques. I was just curious to know if you were either a divergent or convergent thinker. Combine and build use one idea as a springboard for another. Dec 02, 20 divergent thinking is taken to represent a style of thinking that allows many new ideas being generated, in a context where more than one solution is correct. Exercises on these tasks had no effect on productivity when they preceded the first session of brainstorming. You have 4 choices that could state if you are either divergent, allegiant, convergent, or insurgent. The name of this test suggests that it is a divergent thinking test, and its acronym tctdp makes it easy to confuse with torrances ttct.
Give students the opportunity to demonstrate divergent thinking using these activities. Spend more time in divergent thinking and use a variety of ideation methods. Improvisation, divergent thinking, creativity and education 5 our focus on divergent thinking arises because evidence indicates that divergent thinking is a key component of the creative thinking process that predicts creative achievement jauk, benedek, neubauer, 2014. Divergent thinking and the innovation funnel ideo u. Puzzles like this one appeal to some people, but frustrate others. Ya authors on veronica roths divergent trilogy is full of a variety of ideas each expressed by a different wellknown author. See more ideas about divergent thinking, teaching and thinking skills. It is my hope that when students solve this puzzle, or see how it is solved by others. Divergent thinking exercises are a great way to warm up thinking before an exam or to get energized before tackling a new topic.
Solving it will require some divergent thinking on the part of your students. He asked simple questions and then did mental exercises to solve problems. Hopefully, you are beginning to find it easier to generate lots of answers. The divergent trilogy provides a wealth of ideas for readers to respond to. The probably best example is a brainstorming session, which has the aim of generating as many ideas on a particular issue as possible. We use divergent thinking mostly in openended problems that creativity is a fundamental part williams, 2003. Each came to tris story with his or her own influences and experiences, and each came away withand shares heresomething different. It ensures that you define and understand the problem first, discuss it and look at it from different perspectives, and not blindly jump into building a solution.
This weeks puzzle corner activity is an adaptation of a classic puzzle from recreational mathematics. People who are good at divergent thinking, a method championed by educationalist ken robinson, would come up with around 200. Valid reasons why divergent thinking is often discouraged in classrooms. Divergent thinking training program day one this is the first day of a sevenday program that will improve your ability to generate multiple creative solutions to problems big and small. Pdf divergent thinking as an indicator of creative potential. Defer judgment deferring judgment isnt the same as having no judgment. The handbook is for anyone that needs to understand users, customers, people across markets, geographies and cultures. Create a repeatable process you can use each time youre attempting to solve a new problem. This resource provides questions that encourage students to problem solve and consider lots of answers to questions that dont have just one right answer. Nov 17, 2017 convergent vs divergent thinking, differences. Index term abstract, relative, creative, innovative, thinking, skills, talents, intelligence introduction innovative thinking for scientists and researchers is considered.
As it turns out, science says there are a number of ways to help prime the brain for divergent thinking. In fact, it is also a type of thinking very common in children, where joy, imagination, and a fresh perspective make their reasoning more free. By using divergent thinking, instead of only choosing among appointed options, we search for new options. Divergentthinking test an overview sciencedirect topics. Through a series of creativity building exercises, short lectures, and readings, learners develop both an understanding of creativity and increase their own ability. Divergent thinking is thinking outwards instead of inward. Divergent thinking is not the same as brainstorming. Convergent thinking versus divergent thinking youtube. W hen we stop talking about creativity and innovation in abstract terms and start thinking about how they originate, we get divergent thinking.
Sep 01, 2016 are you asking if there are any exercises. Displaying all worksheets related to divergent thinking. This can be an important component of the elementary school experience because divergent thinking is a way for students to practice using their imaginations. This creative thinking packet contains 42 strips each with a different listmaking strategy. Creative thinking how to get out of the box and generate ideas. Divergent thinking is a creative thinking process in which students come up with different ideas and solutions related to a certain question or concept. It typically occurs in a spontaneous, freeflowing, nonlinear manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion.
Divergent thinking is not synonymous with creative thinking, but the research presented in this volume suggests that divergent thinking is an important component of the creative process. Feb 26, 2017 this way of thinking is referred to as divergent thinking and it goes hand in hand with creativity. It could be an old object or a new object an antique or an item that came into your. Brain dopamine function and performance on divergent and convergent thinking tasks the studies of this thesis provide empirical evidence that creativity is not a homogeneous concept. Divergent thinking has been a core technique of good ideation in the design and creative industries for as long as i can remember. Since guilfords seminal work on the topic, divergent thinking has been considered to be one of the core cognitive processes that support creative idea. The process of figuring out a concrete solution to any problem is called convergent thinking.
Exercise interfered with divergent thinking in both groups. You will practice two divergent thinking tasks each day for seven straight days. This way of thinking is referred to as divergent thinking and it goes hand in hand with creativity. Divergent thinking dt is the ability to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions in an effort to find one that works. Design i worked on a variety of different problems and challenges and this basic approach is the common denominator throughout those projects. List 16 uses for an old newspaper list 12 ways to save money list analogies list 35 parts to an automobile the great thing about these lists is that there are no wrong answers. Brainstorming is a technique that encourages divergent thinking, but its only one of many, as you will read in a moment. You start by looking in your closet to explore options. It means to restructure the old patterns, to escape from the usual and to build new models of thinking divergent thinking is not only about generating new ideas but also triggering conflicts between opposing ideas, between old and new ideas. Divergent thinking treats all ideas equally divergent thinking is often hard to measure divergent behavior in larger classrooms might cause disruption. The benefit of divergent thinking is that it encourages people to think from multiple perspectives to open theoretically limitless options, followed by sensemaking, ultimately resulting in more innovative solutions or breakthrough possibilities to address the challenge at hand. This book chronicles how a nation created as a confederation of sovereign states populated by a free people whose liberty was to be guaranteed by the federal government was converted into a country controlled by a fascist central government populated by serfs. Comparing the effects of convergent and divergent teaching. There are certainly exercises like the ones below you can do to improve your dt.
However, the provision of a divergent thinking exercise and a convergentdivergent sequence led participants to generate more ideas and scan more categories than their counterparts in the second session. Choosing what to wear in the morning is an exercise in divergent and convergent thinking. Power of divergent thinking in leadership and change. Worksheets are divergent thinking workshop, 81 fresh fun critical thinking activities, 10 games that promote problem solving skills, abmp divergent thinking activity, teaching and learning of divergent and convergent thinking, creative problem solving participant workbook, creative problem solving problems ideas.
The goal of divergent thinking is to generate many different ideas about a topic in a short period of time. Fluency is considered as a contaminating factor because higher fluency scores accompany higher scores on originality and flexibility starko, 2005. The impact on convergent thinking, the task that presumably required more cognitive control, depended on the training level. This chapter presents the basics of divergent thinking, covering theoretical support and an overview of the different kinds of dt tests and the various scoring methods. In order to accurately measure ones divergent thinking abilities, one must be given a set of openended stimuli, scenarios and exercises. Dec 22, 2016 divergent thinking can also be thought of as the method in which the mind generates ideas with the knowledge that there no wrong answers. Cognitive stimulation with convergent and divergent. Evidence concerning construct and academic validity is discussed. Mar 12, 20 divergent thinking tests have received suggestions for improvement. In his own way, einstein was a much greater threat to the status quo than thoreau could ever be. Students who are given opportunities to use divergent thinking skills are more likely to succeed in tasks such as brainstorming, inventing, writing creatively, and asking new and indepth questions.
The 41 worksheets in this file help students sharpen their divergent thinking skills by inviting them to finish coloring, or add to, a partiallycompleted picture. Sep 06, 2016 divergent thinking dt is the ability to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions in an effort to find one that works. Divergent and convergent thinking is not just for creativity in the workplace. What are the best techniques to trigger ones own divergent. As it turns out, science says there are a number of. Divergent thinking is the ability to interpret a question in many different ways and the ability to see many different answers to a question. Unlike convergent thinking, there is no single best correct answer in divergent thinking. You have been practicing two divergent thinking tasks each day for seven straight days. Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time, and unexpected. Convergent thinking, on the other hand, requires one to restrict ideas to those that might be correct or the best solution to a problem. Divergent thinking is the process of thinking that explores multiple possible solutions in order to generate creative ideas. In this video, manning demonstrates the concepts of divergent and convergent thinking to inspire new ways to approach problemsolving with your team. Convergent thinking is linear and systematic while divergent thinking is weblike, focusing on the connections between ideas.
Divergent thinkers come in both adult and child sizes. Pdf flexibility and originality in childrens divergent. Divergent thinking, or lateral thinking, is about generating multiple creative solutions to the same problem. Tests of dt are useful estimates of the potential for creative problem solving. It is the ability to develop original and unique ideas and then come up with a problem solution or achieve an objective. The challenge during divergent thinking is pushing through the initial blockers, blinders, and biases, and resisting the natural inclinations to turn toward convergent thinking prematurely. It came out of a kickstarted project and is treated as a.
This noncompetitive, cooperative game of cognitive and creative thinking invites players to consider and appreciate correct sequence. Provide worksheets that ask students to complete the picture. If playback doesnt begin shortly, try restarting your device. The process of divergent thinking is systematic and logical. Dec 28, 20 this quiz is based on the trilogy by veronica roth.
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