Therefore, using an essay test on the US Civil War in lieu of a multiple-choice test allows students to ponder answers they may not have considered if given a test requiring only one correct response or mere recall of textbook information. This is because the essay topic encourages students to analyse all information they have gathered on the US Civil War—from the textbook and other experiences—to formulate their own possible responses. However, there are two important points to keep in mind when formulating your questions concerning convergent and divergent thinking.
For starters, convergent questions will be those that require a single response or answer. Divergent questions are open-ended questions by nature since they promote the discovery of multiple plausible responses or answers to a problem. They also promote increased student engagement in classroom learning. The appropriate classroom situations for promoting convergent and divergent thinking are during the introduction of a learning unit, during practice or study situations and at the end of a learning unit.
Students engage in extended strategic thinking when they take these visual cues and turn them into separate paragraphs within their essay. There will be three main paragraphs the body of the essay , and each of these paragraphs would cover two key details. To put it simply, divergent thinking unfolds and broadens; convergent thinking narrows down and focuses, filtering the set of creative options to identify and clarify the next step.
As stated earlier, convergent thinking can lead to divergent thinking, but the opposite is also true in some instances. For example , when recalling what item a certain character bought from the old library that led him on a scary adventure, you could get students to perform divergent thinking by having them ponder how things might have been different if the character had chosen to buy an item that did not have the same type of magical ties as the original object chosen.
Now, you can transform their brainstorming into convergent thinking by having them select the scenario that would have most likely happened if Jonathan had not chosen the object connected to a haunted house. Thus, the complementary nature of convergent and divergent thinking allows students to shift from mere information recall to effective essay and other creative writing. Promoting opportunities to engage in convergent and divergent thinking allows students to address problems both in and out of the classroom.
Student-centered learning thrives in environments that make use of opportunities to use convergent and divergent thinking. Group activities and student participation opportunities are more successful when the learning environment has an interplay with convergent and divergent thinking.
Hopefully, the information in this guide has given you an insightful starting point for being more aware of how you can introduce and promote convergent and divergent thinking. After, hold a class discussion to share responses. Your class has made it to the end of a history or social studies unit. Ask them what they believe would have happened if a given figure had done y instead of x. Individually, or as a small group, students should write a short paper on potential outcomes and impacts.
Students are a week or two away from starting a written assessment. Why not prepare them with a formative assessment? Simply give them a mock essay question that deals with similar subject matter, helping them study as they investigate different responses.
Convergent question example. Factual - Soliciting reasonably simple, straight forward answers based on obvious facts or awareness. These are usually at the lowest level of cognitive or affective processes and answers are frequently either right or wrong. Example: What is the name the Shakespeare play about the Prince of Denmark? Convergent - Answers to these types of questions are usually within a very finite range of acceptable accuracy. These may be at several different levels of cognition -- comprehension, application, analysis, or ones where the answerer makes inferences or conjectures based on personal awareness, or on material read, presented or known.
Example : On reflecting over the entirety of the play Hamlet, what were the main reasons why Ophelia went mad? This is not specifically stated in one direct statement in the text of Hamlet. Here the reader must make simple inferences as to why she committed suicide.
Divergent - These questions allow students to explore different avenues and create many different variations and alternative answers or scenarios. Correctness may be based on logical projections, may be contextual, or arrived at through basic knowledge, conjecture, inference, projection, creation, intuition, or imagination.
These types of questions often require students to analyze, synthesize, or evaluate a knowledge base and then project or predict different outcomes. Answering divergent questions may be aided by higher levels of affective functions. Answers to these types of questions generally fall into a wide range of acceptability.
Often correctness is determined subjectively based on the possibility or probability. Frequently the intention of these types of divergent questions is to stimulate imaginative and creative thought, or investigate cause and effect relationships, or provoke deeper thought or extensive investigations.
And, one needs to be prepared for the fact that there may not be right or definitely correct answers to these questions. Divergent questions may also serve as larger contexts for directing inquiries, and as such may become what are know as "essential" questions that frame the content of an entire course. These questions are often used for problem solving, particularly when the problem is multi-disciplinary in nature.
A more complex example of convergent thinking is providing a student with a range of potential solutions to a problem, asking the student to evaluate each solution and determine the most appropriate solution to solve the problem. Both of these examples require convergent thinking as the student is required to assess different information and come to an optimal, single conclusion.
Convergent questions are often associated with lower levels of thinking, which is often the case, but convergent questions can also challenge students to think in a more complex manner. The level and depth of thinking required to answer a convergent question is dependent on the requirements of the question and the level of the student.
The level of challenge provided by convergent questions is demonstrated by the two examples above. Below are 10 examples of convergent questions where students start with information and converge on an optimal solution. Commonly, convergent questions are used at the start of a lesson to assess student understanding of the topic to be taught in that lesson or to check what the students are able to remember from the previous lesson.
Convergent questions are also commonly used at the end of the lesson as part of a plenary activity to check understanding. But divergent questions can be used at any point in a lesson where the teacher feels they will be beneficial to student progress.
Specifically, when there is a clear right or wrong answer or where a specific solution is most likely to be the optimal solution. For example, the teacher can share a problem with the students and ask a convergent question asking them to propose a solution to the problem. The solution would be one which is most likely to resolve the problem in most cases.
There is less need and opportunity for discussion to follow in this instance but it can be worth asking the student to explain their answer to check their reasons for selecting that specific response can be justified.
You are presented with various information regarding the decision that needs to be made and you use this information to make an informed decision as to the best solution to take. Convergent thinking is more commonly used when a decision needs to be made, with little time to discuss, debate and explore multiple solutions.
Typically, there will be sufficient information available to make the decision and the number of potential solutions will be limited. Divergent questions begin with a prompt and require students to think creatively and critically to identify multiple potential answers. Divergent questions have no specific answer and can be used by teachers to encourage students to think more broadly about a specific topic. Students will consider different scenarios, alternative ideas and examples as they explore the question.
Divergent questions generate divergent thinking which will require students to evaluate, analyse and synthesis information. A mix of creative thinking and being critical in thought are necessary skills when answering divergent questions.
Below are examples of divergent questions where students are given a prompt and expected to generate multiple solutions. Ultimately, divergent questions should be used whenever the teacher wants students to engage in discussion and debate. Due to their open-ended nature, divergent questions will allow students to express a range of views and thoughts on a specific topic allowing for agreement, disagreement and discussion. Divergent questions can be used at the start of a lesson to provide students with an opportunity to express their views and thoughts on the topic being taught.
This is a great way to start a lesson as it immediately generates discussion and student engagement. Using divergent questions at the start of a lesson provides the teacher with an opportunity to assess the views and understanding of the class.
This will inform the lesson ahead. Divergent questions are also commonly used at the end of the lesson as part of a plenary activity to explore some of the key themes discussed in the lesson. Divergent questions can actually be used at any point in a lesson where the teacher feels the students would benefit from divergent thinking, discussion and debate.
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