![]() Open-ended problems, on the other hand, can be solved in many different ways. ![]() Closed problems do not allow for divergent ideas. In a school environment, students are often instructed to find one right answer to a problem. Here are some tips to help your child develop divergent thoughts. The good news is, that there are things that parents can do to help their children improve their creativity. We tend to lose that out-of-the-box thinking the older we get. You have probably noticed that in your own life, your creative performance and divergent thinking ability are relatively low.Īfter all, so much of adult life is about structure, coming up with concrete solutions to problems, and thinking in more black-and-white terms. However, by the time they are 8-10 years old, that number drops to about 50% 9. 98% of kindergartners engage in “genius” levels of divergent thinking. In their early years, imaginative play is the dominant type of play they engage in 8. Most children are innately creative.Ĭhildren engage in creative thinking to a very high degree. If you think of your little children, you may realize that in many ways, they are naturally divergent thinkers. How To Help Children Develop Divergent Thinking To be effectively creative, one needs both types of thinking. ![]() A convergent thinking approach is also an important aspect of creativity. Innovators rely on divergent thinking to generate great ideas and convergent thinking to evaluate the ideas’ practicality.Ĭreativity isn’t just about thinking divergently. Why convergent thinking is also importantĭespite society’s favorable attitudes towards creativity, convergent thinking strategies should not be abandoned. Studies have found that individual differences in divergent thinking are an important factor in determining if one will be a creative problem solver regardless of a person’s intelligence and expertise 13.ĭivergent thinking is most definitely something we want our kids to be good at. They are better at creative problem solving by seeking original solutions to reach goals, and they are more inclined toward higher-level, evaluative thinking 12. Thinking divergently is how innovative solutions are found, how scientific discoveries are stumbled upon, and how complex problems are solved 10.Ĭreativity is the human ability or skill to think up something new and unique 11.Ĭhildren who score high on divergent-thinking tests tend to be able to come up with more unique ideas. Most of the greatest and most successful thinkers in the world have had to engage in high levels of divergent thinking. To succeed in school, our kids must have both convergent and divergent thinking 7. In contrast, some math word problems require you to consider different aspects of the problem or additional solutions using divergent thinking. You follow the logical steps in mathematics to arrive at the one answer. In simple terms, a basic math problem (e.g. If divergent thinking is all about coming up with creative solutions to a particular problem, convergent thinking is about evaluating a problem and coming up with a single correct answer 6. The opposite of divergent thinking is convergent thinking. In this simple process, unexpected connections are often found within a short period of time. The goal is to generate as many ideas on a particular subject as possible. In the session, a list of possible solutions to an open-ended problem is created in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner. Most people can come up with 10-15 uses for a paper clip, but a divergent thinker may come up with many more-upwards of 200 different ideas! 5Īnother example that demonstrates the divergent thought process is a brainstorming session. One example of divergent thinking is the use of a paper clip. It is, therefore, one of the most studied aspects of creativity. ![]() The belief is that coming up with multiple new ideas is a creative process that often leads to unique solutions and creative ideas, both of which are characteristics of creativity 4. Guilford 2) is sometimes referred to as lateral thinking (proposed by Edward de Bono) 3.Ĭreativity is commonly assessed through divergent thinking tests because divergent thinking is a tangible quality that can be quantified and evaluated. This thinking style is non-binary and more explorative in nature. Although it does not equal creativity, divergent thinking is often used as an indicator of an individual’s creativity 1. Divergent thinking is a style of thinking that generates a range of alternative solutions or ideas to a problem that has multiple answers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |