Linear thinking, or convergent thinking, is about learning facts, follow instructions, and solving problems with one right answer. Convergent thinking is a fundamental tool in a child's education.Today, most educational opportunities are tied to one's performance on standardized tests that are often multiple choice in nature. In the convergent thinking process, choice is deliberate and conscious. [2] Promoting opportunities to engage in convergent and divergent thinking allows students to address problems both in and out of the classroom. At certain points in the creative process, thinking and focus needs to shift. While divergent thinking is useful for developing concepts, ideas or hypotheses, convergent thinking is useful for focusing the analytic effort. Linear thinking, or convergent thinking, is about learning facts, follow instructions, and solving problems with one right answer. Convergent Thinking: Narrowing your Thinking. Divergent thinking is generating unique solutions and seeing various possibilities in response to questions and problems. Free for students, parents and educators. Convergent and divergent thinking are opposites, but both have places in your daily lessons. Convergent thinking is systematic and logical (Williams 2003). If you've hit a creative roadblock, here are a … Convergent thinking involves starting with pieces of information, converging around a solution. I have found that there are three crucial convergent thinking techniques: Grouping. Make math learning fun and effective with Prodigy Math Game. When a student contemplates the possible answers available, they use convergent thinking to weigh alternatives within a construct. As it turns out, science says there are a number of ways to help prime the brain for divergent thinking. Convergent Thinking. Sign up today! Divergent thinking is generating unique solutions and seeing various possibilities in response to questions and problems. American psychologist JP Guilford coined the terms in the 1950s, which take their names from the problem solving processes they describe. To enable learners' creative potential, the learning process should also encompass activities which challenge learners' capacities for convergence - evaluating, selecting, reasoning. Divergent and convergent thinking is not just for creativity in the workplace. With convergent thinking, you are trying to find a single best solution to a given problem. When an individual is using critical thinking to solve a problem they consciously use standards or probabilities to make judgments. Examples are multiple choice tests, math quizzes, spelling tests and many other standardised tests in education systems. We use them all the time in our daily lives! Guilford coined convergent thinking in contrast with divergent thinking. 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