Divergent Thinking: Pumping Up Students Creative Muscles
Written by: Dr. Rick Shade, Ed. D.,Patti Garrett Shade, M.A.
“Divergent thinking isn’t a synonym, it’s an essential capacity for creativity.”
~ Sir Ken, Robinson
Educational institutions were founded with the specific charge of building students’ knowledge. Unfortunately, an unintended consequence has been a devastating decline in divergent thinking. The intense time commitment to convergent thinking and memorization uses up all the practice time (the exploratory, learn-by-doing time students had before entering school) needed to explore and strengthen their divergent thinking ability. Schools, by design, have been “built” around teaching students to be better convergent thinkers, AKA figuring out or finding the right answers. This is still a very important goal, but today’s world requires that we prepare students to be better divergent thinkers, AKA thinking outside the box. Future-thinking educators are finding a balance between opportunities for both divergent and convergent thinking. Listen as Sir Ken Robinson passionately makes a case for more Divergent Thinking opportunities in schools.
The longitudinal study of divergent thinking presented in this video is compelling. Wow! Ninety-eight percent of the students tested in Kindergarten scored on a genius level! A decade later, scores dropped below 50 percent! Sir Ken shares his belief that the cause lies at the “door” of education. He goes on to state there are three areas that need to be addressed to nurture and support the “human capacity” for great learning: 1) the myth of academic vs. non-academic values, 2) recognizing that groups and collaboration are essential and, 3) changing the culture of educational institutions – “habitats and habits.”
“The flexibility in our brains, or plasticity, gives us the ability to adapt, learn, and see multiple solutions to a problem.”
Creativity is an innate human trait. The flexibility in our brains, or plasticity, gives us the ability to adapt, learn, and see multiple solutions to a problem. Research suggests that some people have a natural propensity for creativity, and expressing it depends on a person’s interests and environment. The good news! Creativity can be learned because of our brain’s plasticity! María Perlado’s video, The Neuroscience of Creativity, gives us a sneak peek at the goings on inside the brain (the physiology) behind the human ability to think creatively – fluently and flexibly. And why it is so very important. “Our high levels of creativity are thanks to the makeup of our unique restless brains. Our brains are made up of 86 billion neurons! The surplus neurons (not doing vital tasks) form tangled networks that generate random, spontaneous thoughts. These networks bend what we see, break what we expect, and finally, they blend things together with other things!” Viola . . . creativity!
We are all born with the built-in brain parts (anatomy) and functions (physiology) to become great creative thinkers! This video demonstrates that divergent thinking (stretching your brain) is like exercising (stretching your body). Building our brain’s creative “muscles” works much the same as building our body’s muscles. The muscular mass of our bodies increases with repetitive exercises and the stretching keeps the body fluid and able to bend in different directions. Giving our brain opportunities to repetitively think creatively builds the number of neural connections and gives our brains the flexibility to be able to move along multiple pathways. The result? Making an abundant amount (fluency) of new divergent creative connections and conceptualizations.
“Cultivating a growth mindset, believing abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work, can increase neuroplasticity and enhance creativity.”
~ Carol Dweck
Creative Fluency (many ideas) and Flexibility (different ideas) must first be strengthened to prepare students for more complex creative problem-solving challenges. They are the basic skillsets (building blocks) of creativity that are honed only with repetitive practice. Very similar to introducing the skillsets of literacy. Just as you would not start students with writing or reading a novel to learn basic literacy skills, you do not begin teaching creative thinking by engaging them in Problem-Based or Inquiry-Based Learning projects. Practice and repetition are where you begin to scaffold creative abilities.
Providing students with opportunities to engage in quick brainstorming activities is an excellent way to start building “divergent thinking muscles.” This requires that we challenge students, on a regular basis, with open-ended, simplistic problems to build their capacity (brain muscles) as divergent thinkers. We designate these as Brainstarters. They are simple and effective ways to develop the skillsets of divergent thinking (Fluency and Flexibility). Daily calisthenics for the body and daily Brainstarters for the brain. Keeping both body and mind in tip-top shape to engage the future with zest and confidence. Print out a copy of our Thinking Vocabulary to view other terminology we suggest for building a creativity-based learning environment. Each one is designed to make Brainstorming sessions more intense, productive, and efficient. It’s a “game changing” move to start building these “creative muscles” on a daily basis. So let’s get practicing!
“Providing students with opportunities to engage in quick brainstorming activities is an excellent way to start building divergent thinking muscles.”
Most of us are familiar with the traditional version of the Think-Pair-Share process. Here’s a new twist! This is a very structured version, Brainstorming Blitz, that introduces several of our Thinking Vocabulary terms. You might need to try a few times to get it running smoothly. You will soon notice how strongly students’ creative “muscles” begin to develop as they surprise you with a deluge of rapid creative responses. Demonstrating how investing a few minutes of class time yields great returns! Soon you and your students will be challenging each other to see how quickly a Brainstorming Blitz session can be completed. Reflect a moment after completing the Brainstorming Blitz. Was it useful? Fun? Efficient? Now you have the Brainstorming Blitz activity “at your fingertips” (to use with a variety of prompts) as one of your go-to daily Brainstarters.
Using a variety of Brainstarters propels the development of cognitive fluency and flexibility. Think of all the different weight machines used to challenge the muscles of the body! Different types of Brainstarters do the same thing for the brain. These types of activities have often been labeled as “just for fun” and used for fillers or free time. A big mindset shift is for students to understand and value these as an essential part of their “daily diet” of learning and growing to become more creative and flexible thinkers. Brainstarters also serve to activate or “light up” areas (amygdala) of the brain. Energizing students to be more receptive to any content lesson that immediately follows. And increasing retention! A win-win!
“Starting to build thinking classrooms with non-curricular tasks is imperative.”
~ Peter Liljedahl
Moving On!
Engaging students in brainstorming activities very readily pumps up their creative muscles! One major caveat. Don’t just say, “Go Brainstorm!” Perhaps you’ve been in a group setting and experienced the emotional turmoil that sometimes occurs after hearing this two-word intimidating phrase. And braindrizzling sets in? Try adding the press of time or a process like Think-Pair Share to inspire efficient and enjoyable creative output.
Practice! Practice! Practice! Fluency and flexibility can only be improved with frequent and repetitive practice. Think of it as learning to ride a bike. We all eventually accomplish this feat! But some of us go on to be outstanding athletes . . . the Michael Jordans of our world. Thus it is the same with creativity. Some of our students will go on to become notable innovators. But all can acquire the skillsets of creativity that can change how they look at and enjoy the world.
Here’s an idea. At your next team or school-wide meeting, complete a Brainstorming Blitz activity with your colleagues to demonstrate how the Thinking Vocabulary assists in the learning process and how quick and fun it is to build creative “muscles.” There are many Brainstarter activities to be found all over the internet. Several of our favorite types are: Wordles (Rebus), Minute Mysteries, Brain Riddles, etc. Start your collection today and invite your students to design their own.
Interested in Learning More?
We have partnered with CIESC, Keep Indiana Learning, to offer Creativity-Based Learning courses. Course One: Introduction and Person (45 credits) and a free sample Module 4: Curiosity (4 credits) are available now. Visit CuriositaTeaching to view additional publications and resources.
“I loved the Curiosity Module 4.3 example from the classroom. It was a great example of blending curriculum that I am excited to try in my own classroom. Not only did it show me how curiosity fueled the learning, but also how to involve different subjects.”
~ Nichole Knepp
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