Essays on Convergent Thinking

Objective Finding (OF)

Identify the goal, wish, or challenge upon which you want to work. Bottom line: When finished with this step, your team will have a goal/wish/challenge for which it will seek a solution.

Diverge

Converge Identify “hotspots,” expressed as a list of “In What Ways Might . . .” (IWWMs) statements. Start from your list of goal/wish ideas.

Draw out ideas that seem intriguing or interesting (regardless of viability) by expressing them as IWWM statements.

Use a storyboard to sort into clusters of related ideas, with each cluster being a “hotspot.” Recognize the “hotspots” that mean something to your team. Do they have any unusual consequences or implications? After considering these questions, write your team’s overall goal or wish in ...

A Research Proposal First Draft

Abstract While many researchers and practitioners alike are still finding that it is possible to help children develop creative thinking skills, we are also finding that this practice isn't being incorporated for all our kindergarten and pre-school children. The purpose of this paper will therefore be to investigate the ways in which children at the preschool/kindergarten level are being supported in the development of creative thinking skills, as well as the particular role this has played in helping kindergarten students. After initiating a review of the literature to guide the study, the methodology will involve data collection—interviews with ...

ES 6340

3.14.16

Research Purpose/Introduction

In a paper presented at a symposium on teaching children to think creatively, child psychologist E. Paul Torrance (1972), creator of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (Torrance, 1980, 1966) says, I know that it is possible to teach children to think creatively and that it can be done in a variety of ways. I have done it. I have seen my wife do it. I have seen other excellent teachers do it. I have seen children who demonstrated a disability for thinking creatively learn to think creatively. I have seen them continuing for years thereafter to ...