Educational Psychology / Unit 6 EDP 0506 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Divergent and Convergent Thinking
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The idea
Divergent thinking is open-ended, generating many possibilities, while convergent thinking is focused reasoning toward a single correct answer.
In practice
"How many uses can you find for a cup?" is divergent; solving an equation is convergent.
Where people slip
Mastering content, which draws on convergent thinking, feeds divergent thinking up to a point, but overemphasizing it can stifle creativity.
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