divergent thinking definition in education

How to Teach Divergent Thinking Skills in the Classroom

• December 21, 2020

To solve a problem they are struggling with, some students need only to “think outside the box.” This tactic is called divergent thinking, and it gets students to come up with several answers to a question and decide which is the best, most useful one.

Read on to take a look at divergent thinking, why it’s important, and how it differs from its opposite, convergent thinking. Then, discover a few strategies for helping students strengthen and maintain their divergent thinking skills.

What is Divergent Thinking?

Although divergent thinking is not synonymous with creativity—here defined as the ability to have new ideas or make something new—the two skills are closely related.[3] Divergent thinking can lead to creativity as students come up with more unique solutions. Likewise, encouraging creativity in your students can lead them to consider divergent answers to their problems.

Studies also suggest that, as a whole, children have stronger divergent thinking skills than adults. For example, children are better at visualizing divergent ideas than adults. In fact, a person’s ability to think divergently decreases with age. It could be argued that teaching divergent thinking to students is less about teaching a new skill and more about maintaining it.

Divergent Thinking vs. Convergent Thinking

It’s important not to confuse divergent thinking with convergent thinking, a problem-solving strategy that is more often taught in schools. Convergent thinking encourages students to come up with one distinct answer to a question based on the information given to them.[6] After they have come up with this solution, they stop and do not come up with others.

Convergent thinking is not necessarily a negative thinking strategy. In some situations, there may be one answer to a question (though there likely isn’t only one way to get that answer). But in general, teaching divergent thinking over its convergent counterpart will help students solve problems more creatively and effectively.

Divergent Thinking Boosts Problem-Solving and Student Success

Divergent thinking can also help students become more open-minded, a crucial social-emotional skill.[4] As students learn to think about a topic from new angles, they’ll be able to consider ideas from beyond their own experiences. This can help them broaden their perspective and better understand people whose ideas differ from their own.

Additionally, divergent thinking strategies teach students how to problem solve.[2] Instead of stopping at the quickest, easiest, or most obvious solution, students spend time thinking of many different answers. That way, they learn to prioritize finding an effective solution over a fast one.

The younger a student is, the easier divergent thinking may come to them. For example, 90% of kindergarteners ranked at the “genius” level for divergent thinking in a study conducted by the Royal Society of Medicine.[14] If you can nurture this skill early in a student’s academic journey, you can help them maintain skills that will benefit them for their entire life.

Strategies to Encourage Divergent Thought in Schools

One simple yet effective way to help students think divergently is by asking open-ended questions.[12] Open-ended questions are defined as ones that cannot be answered by “yes” or “no.” The more open a question is, the more likely students will be able to come up with many different answers.

These open-ended question examples from the Coeur d’Alene Public School District can help you get started as you structure your lesson plans:

• What were the major effects of World War II for the United States?
• What is your favorite memory from childhood?
• What makes the leaves change color?

In class, encourage students to focus more on the learning process, and not on the answer.[16] If students worry too much about finding the “right” answer, they may hurry and choose their first answer. But if they spend a little more time on a question, they may think of a better one.

Additionally, teach your students to view failures as a positive rather than a negative experience.[10] Making mistakes provides learning experiences that can help students move toward a more successful solution. If a student is struggling with a project, praise them for working hard and encourage them to try again from another angle.

And finally, make sure to include time for creative play in your classroom. Studies show that playing pretend, for example, is linked to stronger divergent thinking skills in young students.[5] Assign students projects that allow them to use their imagination and play as they complete it. You could, for example, assign students an art project or have them perform a skit in small groups.

5 Quick Tips to Teach Students Divergent Thinking Skills

It’s crucial to encourage divergent thinking in schools in order to help students thrive. By thinking outside of the box, your students will come up with better and more thoughtful solutions.

These five quick and simple tips will help you move towards divergent thinking in the classroom.

1. Journaling is a great way to encourage self-analysis and help students think through many solutions to a question.[13] Assign students to keep a journal and ask them thought-provoking questions .

For earlier grades, journaling may involve more drawing and early attempts to write than full sentences.

2. Include free play in your curriculum, which is when students can work on projects of their own choosing.[11]

3. Ask students open-ended questions that cannot be answered with one solution.[8] You could, for example, ask what they believe makes life meaningful or how they would solve a global issue.

4. Brainstorming is a great example of a divergent thinking strategy. If a student is stuck on an assignment, encourage them to brainstorm answers or solutions—either on their own or with their classmates. Through brainstorming, students are taught to consider a variety of solutions instead of just one.[6]

5. Play this Animal Soup Activity to teach students how to come up with many outcomes to a situation.

• Runco, M.A., and Acar, S. Divergent Thinking as an Indicator of Creative Potential . Creativity Research Journal, 2012, 24(1), pp. 66-75.
• Vincent, A.S., Decker, B.P., and Mumford, M.D. Divergent Thinking, Intelligence, and Expertise: A Test of Alternative Models . Creativity Research Journal, 2002, 14(2), pp. 163-178.
• Runco, M. A. Commentary: Divergent thinking is not synonymous with creativity . Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2008, 2(2), 93–96.
• Goodman, S. Fuel Creativity in the Classroom With Divergent Thinking . March 2014. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/fueling-creativity-through-divergent-thinking-classroom-stacey-goodman
• Hadani, H.S. The Creativity Issue: Why Imaginative Play in Early Childhood Could be the Key to Creativity in Adulthood . Toca Magazine. tocaboca.com/magazine/creativity-issue_imaginary-play/.
• Nelson-Danley, K. How to Teach Divergent Thinking . Teach Hub. July 2020. https://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies/2020/07/how-to-teach-divergent-thinking/
• Palmiero, M., Di Giacomo, D., and Passafiume, D. Divergent Thinking and Age-Related Changes . Creativity Research Journal, 2014, 26(4), pp 456-460.
• Amico, B. Crucial Creativity: The Case for Cultivating Divergent Thinking in Classrooms . Waldorf Education. February 2020. https://www.waldorfeducation.org/news-resources/essentials-in-education-blog/detail/~board/essentials-in-ed-board/post/crucial-creativity-the-case-for-cultivating-divergent-thinking-in-classrooms.
• Guido, M. How to Teach Convergent and Divergent Thinking: Definitions, Examples, Templates and More . Prodigy. July 2018. https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/convergent-divergent-thinking/.
• Briggs, S. 30 Ways to Inspire Divergent Thinking . InformED. June 2014. https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/divergent-thinking/.
• Iannelli, V. The Importance of Free Play for Kids . Verywell Family. March 2020. https://www.verywellfamily.com/the-importance-of-free-play-2633113.
• Hughes, D. Activities that Inspire Divergent Thinking . https://study.com/academy/lesson/activities-that-inspire-divergent-thinking.html.
• University of Washington Staff. Strategies of Divergent Thinking . https://faculty.washington.edu/ezent/imdt.htm.
• Abbasi, K. A riot of divergent thinking . Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, October 2011, 104(10), pp. 391.
• Lewis, C., and Lovatt, P.J. Breaking away from set patterns of thinking: Improvisation and divergent thinking . Thinking Skills and Creativity, August 2013, 9, pp. 46-58.
• O’Byrne, W.I. Understanding key differences between divergent & convergent thinking . November 2017. https://wiobyrne.com/divergent-convergent/.
• Cohut, M. What are the health benefits of being creative? Medical News Today. February 2018. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320947.

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Fuel Creativity in the Classroom With Divergent Thinking

Teachers can inspire outside-the-box thinking for students by using problem-based learning, art, music, and inquiry-based feedback.

Recently, I showed a group of students in my high school art class a film called Ma Vie En Rose ( My Life in Pink ), about a 7-year-old boy named Ludovic who identifies as female. Ludovic has an active imagination, but is bullied by both adults and other kids who are unnerved by his desire to wear dresses and play with dolls. The film challenged my students to broaden their understanding of gender and identity and led to a discussion about ways in which our imaginations are limited when we are forced to be who we are not. It reminded me of other stories in which a character is forced to choose an identity, such as the movie Divergent , based on the popular trilogy of novels by Veronica Roth.

In Divergent , a dystopian future society has been divided into five factions based on perceived virtues. Young people are forced to choose a faction as a rite of passage to becoming an adult. Tris, the story’s female hero, knows that choosing a faction might mean being cut off from family and friends forever, and wonders if she truly belongs to any one faction at all. Like Ludovic, Tris feels compelled to hide who she is, and knows that her behavior and ways of thinking might put herself and family at risk. Tris also knows that the most dangerous people in her society are considered those whose thinking is unrestricted and cannot be easily categorized—those people are called divergent.

Defining Divergent Thinking

The word divergent is partly defined as “tending to be different or develop in different directions.” Divergent thinking refers to the way the mind generates ideas beyond proscribed expectations and rote thinking—what is usually referred to thinking outside the box, and is often associated with creativity. Convergent thinking, on the other hand, requires one to restrict ideas to those that might be correct or the best solution to a problem.

Studies suggest that, as children, our divergence capability is high, and decreases dramatically as we become adults. Perhaps this is as it should be to a certain degree, and as teachers and adults we would be concerned if our middle and high school students extended imaginative play into everyday life in the way a 4-year-old does. Yet many teachers at some point in their teaching career become frustrated by their students’ inability to think creatively, and others—exemplified by Sir Ken Robinson —blame schooling itself for killing the imagination.

Divergent behavior is discouraged in school when students are scared to say or do the “wrong thing” in class. This is not surprising since schools often tolerate environments in which both teachers and peer groups keep in check those who say and do things that are off-script, incorrect, or inappropriate. This system of overt convergence is enforced by a grading culture that systematically penalizes students for being “wrong,” and by allowing a school environment in which students tease those who exhibit non-normative behaviors. So if divergent thinking is key to being creative, it becomes clear why our students find being open with their imaginations and divergent ideas inhibited.

It must be said that there are valid reasons why divergent thinking is discouraged in our classrooms. Divergent thinking treats all ideas equally regardless of context or applicability and disregards rubrics, criteria, or any process for assessment. There are also situations when divergent behavior might actually cause physical harm, such as in chemistry class or on the playground, and we expect our students to display good judgment, or convergent thinking strategies, so that they can make correct decisions.

Teachers also might find divergent thinking and behavior a challenge when students ignore directions and rules, and, if we’re honest with ourselves, display personality traits that operate outside societal norms. These non-normative students, kids like the character Ludovic, who are transgender or who identify as atheists, for example, might be considered divergent in many of our communities. It’s up to us as school administrators and teachers to ensure that good judgment extends beyond what might be considered current social norms and take into account what’s best for our students’ spirits, humanity, and ultimate sense of belonging.

In the Classroom: Strategies

Ideally, divergent and convergent thinking work in harmony with each other. The geneplore model diagrams this relation between divergent, generative thinking and evaluative, convergent thinking. Helping our students understand these strategies and how they complement each other also encourages metacognitive learning so that students better understand their own thinking and creative abilities.

As an art teacher, my job is to foster an environment for creative work, and I believe the following five strategies might be useful for non-art teachers as well.

1. Reversing the question/answer paradigm:  Problem-based learning is derived from an approach developed for training medical students in Canada but has since been used in K–12 education and other project-based learning environments. The premise of it is simple: Instead of asking questions to which there is a correct answer, ask students to create the problem.

Students pose their problem by first tapping into their own wishes and goals that might have real-life results or be largely theoretical and in end in the modeling stages. Questions like “How can we grow vegetables without using pesticides?” and “How can we feed the world’s population in a sustainable way?” encourage students to think divergently.

2. Let the music play:  In my classroom, students serve as guest DJs and play their music when we're in the studio mode of our projects. I love the atmosphere music creates. I also know how “tribal” adolescents often see each other in terms of musical taste, so I introduce the guest DJ at the beginning of the term as a strategy for setting norms in the classroom in order to create an environment in which judgment of each other is deferred, restrained, and more thoughtful.

When students learn to defer judgment, the learning environment becomes open to other influences and ideas. When we’re not afraid of being immediately judged by our taste, we’re more likely to share ideas and opinions, and therefore become less afraid to be divergent in our thinking and behavior.

3. Inquiry-based feedback: Instead of value-based feedback, inquiry coupled with deep observation encourages a more open-ended and in-depth approach for evaluating students’ work. Students are encouraged to minimize expressing their likes and dislikes, and to first spend at least two minutes silently observing, and then asking questions prefixed by phrases such as, “I noticed that _____,” “Why did you _____,” and “How _____.”

4. Encourage play and manage failure:  When failure is framed more by reflection and iteration, and less by penalty and closure, we’re more likely to loosen up in our efforts and be less afraid to make mistakes. Then we can open up the environment for play and experimentation.

In my community art class, I prepare students to take risks in their projects by creating one-day exercises in which they engage with the public in a safe but unpredictable way. One example involves asking other students outside of class to have their photo taken. The scary aspect of being rejected is overcome, and students gain courage to open up and take risks. If rejection does occur, students have time to reflect and strategize in preparation for scaling up their ideas or projects.

5. Using art strategies: I use a few art strategies such as collage, readymade, and pareidolia to open up the divergent thinking part of the students’ brains. They become less concerned about exact interpretation and more open to poetry, metaphor, and dream imagery in general.

• Collage : When artfully done, brings disparate images together and finds relationships based on aesthetics, absurdity, or spatial arrangements—not their literal meaning or function in the real world. Once the images are de-coupled from their literal roles, this opens up to nonlinear thinking in general.
• Readymade : This involves taking ordinary objects and playfully renaming what they are or reimagining how they function. Marcel Duchamp had a famous example: taking a urinal, flipping it upside down, and calling it Fountain . I ask my students to do the same with ordinary objects around them—using the material, shape, or alternative functions of an object, they reimagine it.
• Pareidolia : A phenomenon of looking at an object and finding a semblance of something else that’s not really there, like seeing a dragon in the shape of a cloud, or noticing that a three-prong power outlet looks like a face. I show students the short animated film  The Deep by the artist Pes, in which ordinary objects are turned into mysterious sea creatures. I then ask them to take photos of examples of pareidolia around them. They have fun reinterpreting the world.

Divergent thinking strategies offer the possibility of doing more than fostering a creative classroom environment—they can also help us better understand and appreciate difference in all areas of our students’ lives. Young people like the fictional characters Ludovic and Tris might then find a world that’s more accepting, and we could benefit from the creative possibilities when young people are allowed to be who they are.

Divergent Thinking: What It Is, How It Works

Weird or out of the box thoughts can yield a cornucopia of good ideas.

“Bring Your Weird,” is one of the values at Panzura , a cloud-management software company based in San Jose, California. “We believe that different thinking is what makes us awesome, and we encourage everyone to be their authentic self at all times,” said Ed Peters, chief innovation officer. 

What Is Divergent Thinking?

This “different thinking,” also known as divergent thinking, has resulted in many effective decisions for Panzura, including moving the company’s entire product-development and quality-assurance efforts to its Mexican nearshore unit, rather than nearshoring only parts of the process. 

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In the 1950s, psychologist J.P. Guildford came up with the concept of convergent and divergent thinking . Convergent thinking is organized and linear, following certain steps to reach a single solution to a problem. Divergent thinking is more free-flowing and spontaneous, and it produces lots of ideas. Guilford considered divergent thinking more creative because of its ability to yield many solutions to problems. 

“Divergent thinking is the ability to generate alternatives,” said Spencer Harrison, associate professor of organizational behavior at management school Insead. Divergent thinkers question the status quo. They reject “we’ve always done it this way” as a reason, he said. 

Divergent thinking can and should involve convergent thinking, said Peters of Panzura. The two ways of thinking “are a yin and yang that can become a virtuous cycle and a source of great pride for the team members that create ideas, products and moments.”

Characteristics of Divergent Thinking 

“All true thinking is divergent,” said Chris Nicholson, team lead at San Francisco-based Clipboard Health, which matches nurses with open shifts at healthcare facilities. “Everything else is imitation and doesn’t require thinking at all.” 

Divergent thinking encompasses creativity, collaboration, open mindedness, attention to detail and other qualities. 

Divergent thinking is creative , but it’s not creative thinking, which requires a complicated set of skills, Harrison said. Designers need to be empathetic to create suitable, organic solutions. That empathetic aspect of thinking is, in a way, divergent thinking because it leads to ideas, but it is not the sum and substance of divergent thinking, Harrison said. 

“Engaging in divergent thinking while problem solving tends to result in more creative solutions.”

Divergent thinking and creativity are intertwined, said Taylor Sullivan, senior staff industrial-organizational psychologist at Codility , an HR tech company based in San Francisco. “Engaging in divergent thinking while problem solving tends to result in more creative solutions,” she said. “This is important because leader creativity has been shown to promote positive change and inspire followers,” she said. Creative problem-solving also enhances team performance, particularly when it involves brainstorming, Sullivan added.

Open Mind 

“One of the key life lessons my father taught me was the importance of being willing to change your mind,” Sullivan said. Open-mindedness — the willingness to to consider new or different perspectives and ideas — is a hallmark of divergent thinking and is critical for effective leadership , she said. 

Collaborative

Idea creation at Donut involves cross-department collaboration , said Arielle Shipper, vice president of operations at the New York-based company, which makes office communication tools. “We always pull in people from across the organization, even if the problem we’re working on doesn’t touch their direct role,” Shipper said. Representatives from product and engineering especially bring a perspective that helps tie products and the solutions, she said. 

This collaboration involves getting input from everyone, even those who are reluctant to share thoughts, she said. “It’s important to me that everyone knows that their ideas are crucial for our work, even if they contradict what a more senior person is saying,” Shipper said. To spark conversation, she asks “is there anything you disagree with?” rather than “what do you think?” Asking the more tightly focused question, which Shipper calls a “simple but mindful shift in language” promotes a culture of acceptance and ideation. 

Rethink Language 

Along similar lines, Chris Nicholson and his team at Clipboard Health think divergently by escaping what he calls language traps, “when you realize that what’s happening is being obscured by the way people talk about it,” Nicholson said. 

To illustrate: Clipboard Health believes that new hires should “raise the median” on the team they’re joining. That belief, though, led to rejecting people for the wrong reasons, for example not having a Ph.D on a team filled with Ph.Ds. 

To get out of that language trap, the company settled on a multi-dimensional median for teams, meaning that candidates could excel in coding ability, humility or other skills .

Detail Oriented

“The devil is in the details,” said Leslie Ryan, managing director in cybersecurity and technology controls at JPMorgan Chase . “I have always thought outside the career and it has helped my career advance,” said Ryan, who has six direct reports and a team of 40. 

Earlier in her career, Ryan’s employer wanted to outsource functions that many people thought couldn’t be outsourced. Trade support was one such function. “It typically required a person to be in proximity to the trader and details of the trade,” Ryan explained. By dissecting a trading assistant’s job, she was able to pinpoint certain functions, such as reconciliations and reporting, that could be outsourced. 

Strategy 

“I tend to see the bigger picture — strategically and long term,” said Chris Noble, CEO of New York-based cloud-tech company Cirrus Nexus, who considers himself a divergent thinker. “I look at things from a perspective of not what we can’t do, but imagining what can be and where we need to go,” he said. The quality, which Noble attributes in part to his dyslexia, helps him visualize unique and forward-thinking products for Cirrus Nexus. 

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Build Divergent Thinking Skills

Chris Nicholson of Clipboard Health honed his ability to think divergently when he was young; his family of six debated at the dinner table and his father enjoyed playing devil’s advocate. “That led us to see different perspectives,” he said. Nicholson thinks many people are able to think divergently, but perhaps are not in environments that foster it. Divergent thinking is “creative, reality focused, and persistent,” he said.

Ask Questions 

When faced with a problem, Nicholson asks questions: “Why do we think this is a problem? What do we achieve if we solve it? What data, experience and customer interactions do we have that backs up our hypotheses?” This “discovery stage,” he said, helps management understand a problem before it builds solutions. “Explore the mystery first and relish the discomfort of not knowing, rather than building a plan based on misguided beliefs,” he said. 

Let Thoughts Flow Freely

Free-flowing thought is a necessary step in divergent thinking, agreed Christine Andrukonis, founder and senior partner at leadership consultancy Notion Consulting, who considers divergent thinking a hallmark of leadership. “A great leader’s superpower is to be able to see into the future and anticipate what’s next, which requires divergent thinking,” she said. 

“A great leader’s superpower is to be able to see into the future and anticipate what’s next, which requires divergent thinking.” 

When presented with a problem, Andrukonis lets her thoughts flow freely and writes them down. Then she steps away to think about what she’s written down and perhaps identify patterns among the thoughts. She circles those patterns, steps away again, and then connects them to the bigger picture. 

“My step-away moments are literally that — going for a walk, spending time with my family, or doing something creative like painting,” Andrukonis said. Stepping away does not involve a meeting or work-related task, she said.

Listen Actively 

“When I face a problem, I innately begin thinking of different ways the problem can be solved,” said Daryl Hammett, general manager, global demand generation and operations at AWS , based in Seattle, Washington. 

Soon after, though, Hammett starts tapping his team for feedback. “We always start with working back from the customers’ needs, so I actively seek the advice and viewpoints of a diverse range of people, listening to their thoughts about the problems, goals, and challenges they face,” he said. 

By actively listening , he practices divergent thinking skills and builds solutions with his teams. “Problems are not linear,” he said. “They’re multi-dimensional and should be addressed from a variety of angles before the best solutions appear.”

To nurture divergent thinking, Hammett encourages his team to challenge him without fear of judgment. “I am always open to feedback and change,” he said. “Having two-way conversations helps me cut through the noise and put my people first.” 

He also considers divergent thinking a mark of effective leadership — it helped him navigate the management challenges of the pandemic and helps lead his team with flexibility. 

Both divergent and convergent thinking have their place in a leader’s skillset, said Spencer Harrison of Insead. Leaders who deal with stable and settled situations might benefit more from convergent thinking, while leaders with unstable, volatile environments might do well to think only divergently. 

“What research suggests is that divergent thinking might help you see new possibilities, but you would still need convergent thinking to realize and execute on those possibilities,” he said. “That said, because education and organizations tend to over-reward conformity, divergent thinking is probably a bit more rare and therefore likely more valuable especially in the long run over the course of a career,” Harrison said. 

Peters at Panzura has his own opinion. “Sometimes the divergent thinking path wins, much of the time it doesn’t,” he said. “We create more opportunities for divergence by repeating the saying: ‘You never lose. You win or you learn.’

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Divergent Thinking

What is divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking is an ideation mode which designers use to widen their design space as they begin to search for potential solutions. They generate as many new ideas as they can using various methods (e.g., oxymorons) to explore possibilities, and then use convergent thinking to analyze these to isolate useful ideas.

“When you’re being creative, nothing is wrong.” — John Cleese, Famous comedian and actor

Convergent and divergent thinking

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Divergent Thinking Can Open up Endless Possibilities

The formula for creativity is structure plus diversity, and divergent thinking is how you stretch to explore a diverse range of possibilities for ideas that might lead to the best solution to your design problem . As a crucial component of the design thinking process, divergent thinking is valuable when there’s no tried-and-tested solution readily available or adaptable. To find all the angles to a problem, gain the best insights and be truly innovative, you’ll need to explore your design space exhaustively. Divergent thinking is horizontal thinking, and you typically do it early in the ideation stage of a project. A “less than” sign (<) is a handy way to symbolize divergent thinking – how vast arrays of ideas fan out laterally from one focal point: Design team members freely exercise their imaginations for the widest possible view of the problem and its relevant factors, and build on each other’s ideas. Divergent thinking is characterized by:

Quantity over quality – Generate ideas without fear of judgement (critically evaluating them comes later).

Novel ideas – Use disruptive and lateral thinking to break away from linear thinking and strive for original, unique ideas.

Creating choices – The freedom to explore the design space helps you maximize your options, not only regarding potential solutions but also about how you understand the problem itself.

Divergent thinking is the first half of your ideation journey. It’s vital to complement it with convergent thinking, which is when you think vertically and analyze your findings, get a far better understanding of the problem and filter your ideas as you work your way towards the best solution.

A Method to the “Madness” – Use Divergent Thinking with a Structure

Here are some great ways to help navigate the uncharted oceans of idea possibilities:

Bad Ideas – You deliberately think up ideas that seem ridiculous, but which can show you why they’re bad and what might be good in them.

Oxymorons – You explore what happens when you negate or remove the most vital part of a product or concept to generate new ideas for that product/concept: e.g., a word processor without a cursor.

Random Metaphors – You pick something (an item, word, etc.) randomly and associate it with your project to find qualities they share, which you might then build into your design.

Brilliant Designer of Awful Things – When working to improve a problematic design, you look for the positive side effects of the problem and understand them fully. You can then ideate beyond merely fixing the design’s apparent faults.

Arbitrary Constraints – The search for design ideas can sometimes mean you get lost in the sea of what-ifs. By putting restrictions on your idea—e.g., “users must be able to use the interface while bicycling”—you push yourself to find ideas that conform to that constraint.

© Yu Siang and Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0

Learn More about Divergent Thinking

Take our Creativity course to get the most from divergent thinking, complete with templates .

Read one designer’s detailed step-by-step account of divergent thinking at work.

This UX Collective article insightfully presents an alternative approach involving divergent thinking .

Literature on Divergent Thinking

Here’s the entire UX literature on Divergent Thinking by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Divergent Thinking

Take a deep dive into Divergent Thinking with our course Creativity: Methods to Design Better Products and Services .

The overall goal of this course is to help you design better products, services and experiences by helping you and your team develop innovative and useful solutions. You’ll learn a human-focused, creative design process.

We’re going to show you what creativity is as well as a wealth of ideation methods ―both for generating new ideas and for developing your ideas further. You’ll learn skills and step-by-step methods you can use throughout the entire creative process. We’ll supply you with lots of templates and guides so by the end of the course you’ll have lots of hands-on methods you can use for your and your team’s ideation sessions. You’re also going to learn how to plan and time-manage a creative process effectively.

Most of us need to be creative in our work regardless of if we design user interfaces, write content for a website, work out appropriate workflows for an organization or program new algorithms for system backend. However, we all get those times when the creative step, which we so desperately need, simply does not come. That can seem scary—but trust us when we say that anyone can learn how to be creative­ on demand . This course will teach you ways to break the impasse of the empty page. We'll teach you methods which will help you find novel and useful solutions to a particular problem, be it in interaction design, graphics, code or something completely different. It’s not a magic creativity machine, but when you learn to put yourself in this creative mental state, new and exciting things will happen.

In the “Build Your Portfolio: Ideation Project” , you’ll find a series of practical exercises which together form a complete ideation project so you can get your hands dirty right away. If you want to complete these optional exercises, you will get hands-on experience with the methods you learn and in the process you’ll create a case study for your portfolio which you can show your future employer or freelance customers.

Your instructor is Alan Dix . He’s a creativity expert, professor and co-author of the most popular and impactful textbook in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. Alan has worked with creativity for the last 30+ years, and he’ll teach you his favorite techniques as well as show you how to make room for creativity in your everyday work and life.

You earn a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you’ve completed the course. You can highlight it on your resume , your LinkedIn profile or your website .

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A Guide to Divergent and Convergent Thinking in the Classroom

Understanding and Implementing Divergent and Convergent Thinking in the Classroom

In the world of education, understanding and effectively utilizing different thinking styles is paramount in fostering a comprehensive learning environment. Two such cognitive approaches, divergent and convergent thinking, offer unique pathways to problem-solving and creativity. Let’s explore each thinking style and delve into strategies for integrating them into the classroom setting.

What is Divergent Thinking?

Divergent thinking is a cognitive process where students are encouraged to explore many possible solutions to a single problem. It’s a free-wheeling style of thinking that enables the generation of fresh ideas and perspectives. For instance, when faced with a question like “How many uses can you think of for a paperclip?”, students employing divergent thinking will come up with a wide array of answers, exploring the bounds of possibility and creativity.

Implementing Divergent Thinking in the Classroom:

Foster a Judgment-Free Zone:

• Allow students to brainstorm ideas freely and openly. Make the classroom a safe space for sharing all thoughts, fostering a rich environment for exploration and innovation.

Use Open-Ended Questions:

• Frame questions in a way that encourages varied and numerous responses. This approach sparks creativity and allows students to think outside of the conventional bounds.

Encourage Creative Assignments:

• Assign projects and tasks that allow students to express themselves uniquely. The focus should be on generating diverse and innovative ideas.

What is Convergent Thinking?

Convergent thinking is the process of finding a single, optimal solution to a well-defined problem. This thinking style emphasizes analysis, logic, and systematic processing. It’s used to address questions with a single correct answer, like mathematical problems or specific factual queries.

Implementing Convergent Thinking in the Classroom:

Teach Structured Problem-Solving Strategies:

• Provide students with a framework or method for tackling problems. Guide them in the process of analyzing issues and finding the most effective solutions.

Promote Analytical Assignments:

• Design assignments that require analytical thinking, such as experiments, math problems, or literary analysis.

Prioritize Evaluation and Analysis:

• Encourage students to assess different solutions and perspectives critically. This strategy hones their analytical skills and helps them understand the criteria for effective problem-solving.

Merging the Two for Holistic Learning:

For a well-rounded educational experience, merging both divergent and convergent thinking in classroom activities is essential.

Sequential Thinking Tasks:

• Initiate with tasks that require divergent thinking, followed by activities that necessitate convergent thinking. This sequential approach provides students with a holistic problem-solving experience.

Collaborative Projects:

• Engage students in group work where they can experience both types of thinking. Collaboration fosters a diverse range of ideas and structured problem-solving strategies.

Real-World Problem-Solving:

• Present students with real-world problems that require both creative brainstorming and systematic problem-solving.

Understanding and effectively implementing both divergent and convergent thinking in the classroom will not only enhance the educational experience but also equip students with the vital problem-solving skills needed in real-world scenarios. Both thinking styles are invaluable, and their integration provides a balanced and thorough approach to learning and development.

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Divergent Thinking

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Creative potential ; Flexibility ; Fluency ; Ideation ; Originality

Introduction

The theory of divergent thinking is among the most useful in all of creativity studies. Many people equate divergent thinking with creativity, which is not an accurate view since (a) divergent thinking is a useful concept outside of assessment and testing and (b) creativity requires various things and not just divergent thinking. That being said, tests of divergent thinking are the most commonly used estimates of the potential for creative thinking. But divergent thinking tasks are also useful as exercises, even when there is no need or interest in measurement, and the theory of divergent thinking is useful when attempting to understand creative thought, even when there is no need for application, data, or assessment. It is a good theory. It holds up well when the criteria for what makes a good theory (e.g., broad coverage, testable hypotheses, parsimony) are used to evaluate it. This entry starts...

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Guilford JP. Creativity, intelligence, and their educational implications. EDITS: San Diego; 1968.

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Runco MA, editor. Divergent thinking. Norwood: Ablex Publications; 1991.

Runco MA, editor. Divergent thinking and creative ideation. Cresskill: Hampton Press; 2012.

Torrance EP. Why fly? Norwood: Hampton Press; 1995.

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Runco, M.A. (2020). Divergent Thinking. In: Carayannis, E.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15347-6_430

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Why You Need to Practice Divergent Thinking

Now is the time for divergent thinking..

Posted June 24, 2020 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

As I wrote in The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative, No Matter Where You Work , “divergent thinking helps us generate many new ideas, imagine, be original, ask questions to spot problems, look for patterns, make unexpected connections, imagine, and see things from a variety of perspectives.”

Divergent thinking is ideational or visionary in nature. It involves rigorous gymnastics of the mind that lead to unexpected solutions. Divergent thinking spurs our thoughts beyond what exists, opening the door of thought to consider new possibilities.

Converge: Analyze Ideas and Form Solutions

Convergent thinking complements divergent thinking. We can take all the ideas and connections generated during divergence and probe them. Convergent thinking includes judgment. We weigh the options within a fixed set of information. We consider our particular situation, look at our goals and objectives, analyze the information before us, and decide what to do under the circumstances.

Most of us are well-practiced in convergent thinking. Much of school, especially with the growth of standardized tests, trains us almost exclusively in convergent thinking. As the use of these tests has increased and become more pressurized, teachers have adjusted their teaching styles to match them. Districts buy scripted curricula to align with test content, and many teachers are required to read straight from lesson plans without diverging.

Even more than before, convergent thinking dominates in our classrooms. Recent studies show that this is happening as early as preschool. Suffice it to say that we are steeped in convergent thinking from a very young age. Even so, we can still get better at using it as divergent thinking’s partner.

To have true creativity —the most robust form of thinking—we must have both divergent thinking and convergent thinking. Some people are more inclined toward divergent thinking, and others prefer convergent. This is a good thing, because, as I’ve said before, we need both. We need people who are passionate about pushing past the current reality to find new possibilities, and we also need people who are passionate about working through analytical details to craft solid solutions.

The problem is that convergence is an almost irresistible force that tends to dominate our lives and the world.

Don’t Let Convergence Take Over Your World

Convergent thinking in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, of course. As mentioned, it’s divergent thinking’s essential partner to achieve the truly robust cognition that is creativity. But when divergent thinking is compromised, and convergence takes over, the decline is imminent.

One definition of "converge" is to gradually change so as to become similar or develop something in common. As humans, our innate need to belong makes us more apt to take on a convergence mindset. This is true in all microcosms of society, from families to schools, to teams and businesses. The culture of the group puts pressure on the uniqueness of the individual.

Convergence is how traditions develop, how groups find cohesiveness, and how some people start to resemble their dogs. (There’s probably a much more scientific explanation for the last one!) But think about it. If we all continue to change toward one particular point of sameness, all of a sudden, we morph together in one giant blob of thought and action.

When we are no longer able to think for ourselves because we are so intertwined with the group, we lose the ability to find new solutions. The core of so many problems in the world is a lack of divergent thinking, a lack of considering the new possibilities that will get us out of ruts.

Balance Your Thinking to Be More Creative

When convergence takes over, it kills off divergence little by little until we find ourselves out of balance from a thinking standpoint. At work, this manifests as apathy and dissatisfaction. When we set out to improve our creativity, we realign our balance; using both divergent and convergent thinking is natural for human beings. Balanced thinking balances individuals, and they, in turn, nourish ecosystems away from decay and toward possibility.

3 Ways to Get Better at Divergent Thinking

We’re all pretty darn good at convergent thinking. But our divergent thinking tends to decrease over time. Here are three tips from The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative, No Matter Where You Work to help you develop your divergent thinking.

1. Grow Your Thinking Flexibility: Minimize Trash. Lauren Singer has rethought her entire lifestyle so that her full year’s worth of trash can be contained in one small mason jar. And yes, ladies, that means she’s even found an alternative to those fun monthly feminine products.

What are five non-obvious things you can do today to reduce your own trash? Check out Singer’s Trash Is for Tossers website or her Instagram feed of the same name for inspiration. Even if she comes up with the ideas, it still takes flexibility for you to use them.

2. Free Your Thinking: Do Things Differently. Develop your freedom by doing things differently. What are three things that your organization does now because “we’ve always done it this way”? Choose one and think up and try an alternate approach.

3. Expand Your Thinking: Respond Like an Improv Actor. Imagine if, in the middle of an improv scene, one actor told the other, “You weren’t supposed to say that!” or “Don’t use that line!” The improv actor’s secret success tool is staying in a mentality of “Yes, and....” She has to say yes to the ridiculous and go with it to finish out the scene well. Today, practice responding to people’s ideas with, “Yes, and....” Repeat tomorrow.

This article also appeared on Sparkitivity.com. Copyright Sparkitivity, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/01/12/what-to-do-when-…

Kathryn Haydon, MSc , is an innovation strategist, speaker, and author who helps teams and individuals activate and maximize their creative thinking and innovation potential.

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What is divergent thinking in behavioral science, what is divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It involves thinking outside the box and is characterized by the ability to produce numerous, varied, and unique ideas in response to an open-ended prompt. This cognitive approach differs from convergent thinking, which focuses on finding a single, correct solution to a problem.

Why is it Important?

Divergent thinking is essential for innovation, problem-solving, and creativity. It is the cornerstone of brainstorming sessions and is often associated with artistic endeavors, research breakthroughs, and successful inventions. The capacity for divergent thinking helps individuals and organizations to approach problems from fresh perspectives, enhance adaptive skills in dynamic environments, and drive advancements in various fields by challenging established norms.

How Does it Work?

The mechanism of divergent thinking involves several key cognitive processes:

The ability to generate a large number of ideas or responses.

Flexibility:

The ability to produce a wide variety of ideas or solutions.

Originality:

The ability to come up with unique or novel ideas.

Elaboration:

The ability to build on others’ ideas or to enhance and develop complex solutions.

These processes involve both the right and left hemispheres of the brain, with a strong reliance on the associative networks that enable the connection of disparate ideas and concepts.

What are its Properties?

Divergent thinking has several distinguishing properties, including:

Non-linearity:

It does not follow a linear path and often involves random associations.

Spontaneity:

Ideas are generated in a free-flowing, spontaneous manner.

Open-endedness:

Solutions are not constrained by predefined limits or rules.

Risk-taking:

It often entails a willingness to explore unorthodox or unconventional paths.

How is it Measured?

Divergent thinking is typically assessed through various psychological tests and exercises designed to measure creative potential. Common measures include:

Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking:

These tests evaluate fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration through tasks such as drawing and storytelling.

Alternative Uses Task:

Participants come up with as many uses as possible for a common object, which is then scored for fluency, flexibility, and originality.

Remote Associates Test:

Individuals must identify a word that links three seemingly unrelated words, measuring the ability to see connections.

What are its Relationships to other Concepts?

Divergent thinking is connected to various concepts within psychology and neuroscience:

Creativity:

It is one of the key cognitive processes that enable creativity.

Convergent Thinking:

It is often contrasted with convergent thinking, which focuses on logical reasoning and arriving at single, correct answers.

Cognitive Flexibility:

It relies on and contributes to cognitive flexibility, the mental ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts or to think about multiple concepts simultaneously.

Innovation:

Divergent thinking is essential for innovation, as it provides a rich set of potential ideas that can lead to groundbreaking solutions.

What are its Limitations?

While divergent thinking is highly valuable, it has certain limitations:

Need for Convergence:

For practical purposes, divergent thinking must eventually give way to convergent thinking to refine and implement the most viable solutions.

Paralysis by Analysis:

Generating too many ideas without moving towards action can lead to decision-making paralysis.

Context-dependence:

The utility of divergent thinking may be influenced by the context or environment in which it is applied, as well as individual differences in cognitive style and training.

How is it Used?

Divergent thinking is used in numerous applications, including:

Educational Settings:

To foster creativity and problem-solving skills among students.

Product Development:

Within businesses to innovate and develop new products or services.

Creative Industries:

In field such as advertising, arts, and entertainment, where original content is key.

In scientific and academic research to explore wide-ranging hypotheses and theories.

What is its History?

Divergent thinking was first described by psychologist J.P. Guilford in the 1950s as a part of his structure-of-intellect model. Guilford’s research highlighted the importance of divergent thinking as a component of human intelligence that separated creative thinkers from others, leading to further studies and the development of tests to measure this cognitive attribute.

What are its Future Possibilities?

The future of divergent thinking lies in its integration into educational curricula, its application in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and its relevance in an increasingly complex world that demands innovative solutions. As our understanding of the brain and cognition advances, there may be potential to nurture and enhance divergent thinking through training programs, neurofeedback, and cognitive stimulations, offering exciting prospects for the evolution of creativity and problem-solving across various domains.

Related Behavioral Science Terms

Belief perseverance, crystallized intelligence, extraneous variable, representative sample, factor analysis, egocentrism, stimulus generalization, reciprocal determinism, divergent thinking, convergent thinking, social environment, decision making, related articles.

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Definition of Divergent Thinking:

Divergent thinking is a cognitive process that involves the ability to generate multiple ideas, possibilities, or solutions to a given problem or question. It is characterized by a non-linear and spontaneous approach to thinking, where individuals explore various perspectives and consider unconventional alternatives.

Key Aspects of Divergent Thinking:

• Flexibility: Divergent thinking encourages individuals to think beyond traditional boundaries and explore different angles or viewpoints.
• Originality: It emphasizes the generation of unique and novel ideas that may not conform to the conventional norms.
• Fluency: Divergent thinking focuses on the production of a large quantity of ideas, without judgment or evaluation at the brainstorming stage.
• Elaboration: The process involves building upon initial ideas, expanding and developing them further.
• Unconventionality: Divergent thinking encourages breaking away from conventional ideas and exploring unusual possibilities.

Application of Divergent Thinking:

Divergent thinking is particularly valuable in creative problem-solving, brainstorming sessions, idea generation, and innovation. It allows for a wider spectrum of possibilities and fosters the exploration of diverse perspectives, leading to unique and inventive outcomes.

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How to Teach Convergent and Divergent Thinking: Definitions, Examples, Templates and More

Written by Marcus Guido

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Students at one school district mastered 68% more math skills on average when they used Prodigy Math.

• Teaching Strategies

The definitions of convergent and divergent thinking

• Examples of questions
• Tips for creating your own questions
• Prompting students to use each style of thinking

Not all problems require the same approach.

For many students, knowing how to tackle certain problems starts by recognizing when to apply convergent and divergent thinking.

To help you effectively teach and reinforce these strategies, read through it, and then reference it as you integrate both thinking methods into your lessons.

Convergent and divergent thinking are opposites, but both have places in your daily lessons.

American psychologist JP Guilford coined the terms in the 1950s, which take their names from the problem solving processes they describe.

Convergent thinking involves starting with pieces of information, converging around a solution.

As you can infer, it emphasizes finding the single, optimal solution to a given problem and usually demands thinking at the first or second Depth of Knowledge (DoK) level.

Determining the correct answer to a multiple choice question is an example.

The nature of the question does not demand creativity, but inherently encourages the student to consider the veracity of each provided answer before selecting the single correct one. Typically, he or she must apply a limited range of skills and knowledge to reach this answer quickly.

This mirrors many out-of-school scenarios, wherein someone must use all the information available to him or her to make a decision.

Divergent thinking, on the other hand, starts with a prompt that encourages students to think critically, diverging towards distinct answers.

As you can see, the prompts -- in the form of guiding questions -- are open-ended and typically require thinking at the third, or even fourth, Depth of Knowledge level.

Writing an essay and brainstorming are examples of exercises that demand divergent thinking.

Creativity plays an important role , as students should usually reach an answer they did not anticipate upon processing the prompt. This is because the prompt should encourage them to analyze content and generate their own ideas to arrive at a range of plausible solutions.

This mirrors real-life situations in which students face a broad problem without much information.

Now that you understand convergent and divergent thinking, you’re probably curious about the kinds of questions that incite each strategy.

Examples of convergent vs. divergent questions

Like most teaching tasks, writing convergent and divergent questions is easier said than done.

Use these examples as templates, and to guide your creation of content-appropriate convergent and divergent questions:

Although it’s likely these convergent and divergent question examples aren’t completely applicable to you, they should -- at the very least -- give you a clear idea about how to structure your own questions.

How to write original convergent and divergent questions

Using the above examples as inspiration, keep these tips in mind to create your own convergent and divergent questions:

• Focus on the beginning --  Before you get into the nitty gritty of crafting a question, you should understand that the first few words are the most important. That’s because they’ll largely deem what kind of responses you’ll receive. Convergent questions typically start with “who,” “what,” “where” or “when.” Divergent questions usually begin with “how could,” “what might” or “suppose.”
• Search far and wide for the answers --  Validating a question starts by finding answers. You shouldn’t have a tough time answering convergent questions. Flipping through a textbook, lesson notes or an online resource should yield a clear answer. On the other hand, you shouldn’t find a definitive answer to a divergent question through such research methods. You’re encouraging students to deliver original responses born from  critical thinking , after all.
• Make convergent questions before divergent ones --  If you struggle to brainstorm divergent questions, start with convergent questions. Often, the process of writing three to four convergent questions will allow you to combine them into a divergent one. Consider the notion that divergent queries begin with phrases such as “suppose.” Answering a “suppose” question comes from understanding “what,” “who” and the answers to other convergent questions.

With examples in your toolbox -- and tips about how to create your own questions -- you need to consider the appropriate times to ask them.

When, and how, to give opportunities for convergent and divergent thinking

During lessons, before study times and at the conclusions of entire units, opportunities to spur and assess convergent and divergent thinking will present themselves.

Here are four opportunities to encourage convergent thinking, and how to do so:

1. You’re in the middle of a math lesson, and arrive at a  word problem . Don’t immediately start the problem-solving process. Instead, walk through the wording with students before giving them five minutes of independent work. Using their notes and textbooks for reference, they can determine the functions needed to solve the problem.

2. The content you’re delivering in history, social studies or language arts class is broad enough that you anticipate students will struggle to process it. As a quick  differentiated instruction exercise , provide a physical timeline and list of events to small groups of students. Ask them to pin the events to the timeline, aiding contextualization.

3. You’re giving a lecture-style lesson, and want to avoid providing a solution without giving students a chance to answer the question. But they’re struggling to respond. To enable convergent thinking, present potential answers in a multiple-choice style fashion. “Who wrote [text]? Was it [author], [author] or [author]?”

4. It’s the end of a unit. To review content in preparation for an assessment, ask students to summarize aspects of the unit. For example, “List  x  ways to apply  y  skill.” Or, “In what ways did [person] accomplish [goal].” If you provide a high number of such tasks, you can run a  jigsaw activity , allowing students to work together to review key material.

Here are four opportunities to encourage divergent thinking, and how to do so:

1. You’re reading a play or novel as a class, and the protagonist faces a major problem. Before learning how he overcomes it, ask the class to think of as many solutions as possible. You can run this as a think-pair-share activity. Specifically, students can individually  think  of solutions,  pair  with one another to exchange ideas  and then  share  these ideas with the class.

2. Running through new math problems as a class, you present a broad word problem that’s rooted in skills students already have. Instead of immediately solving the question, give them 15 minutes to find as many methods of solving it as possible. After, hold a class discussion to share responses.

3. Your class has made it to the end of a history or social studies unit. They have a fresh, firm grasp on the unit’s content, meaning it’s an ideal time to pose a query that demands divergent thinking. 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.

4. 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.

Although you can use them separately, convergent and divergent thinking aren’t mutually exclusive.

This is because divergent thinking can lead in to convergent thinking.

Consider asking a question such as, “Suppose Bilbo Baggins didn’t pick up the Ring when he first had the chance. How might his encounter with Gollum have been different? What are some potential outcomes?” Students who have a firm grasp of The Hobbit would likely generate many ideas from this divergent question.

This opens the door to asking a convergent question as a follow-up. For example, “Based on the different outcomes you envisioned, which one is the most probable? Why?”

Linking the two thinking styles in this manner can prepare students to write essays and tackle open-ended projects , as well as out-of-school dilemmas in which they must choose the single-best course of action.

Final thoughts

Developing strong commands of convergent and divergent thinking should empower students to tackle challenging problems, in and out of the classroom.

What’s more, being able to use the thinking styles -- independently and together -- is critical in many projects, group activities and forms of assessment.

This is why it’s crucial to provide opportunities to apply convergent and divergent thinking, while offering scaffolding and supplementary instruction.

Reading and referencing this guide is only a first step, albeit an important one.

Create or log in to your free teacher account on Prodigy — a fun, easy-to-use math platform that delivers content in an engaging game-based learning environment. Aligned with curricula across the English-speaking world, it’s used by more than 2.5 million teachers and 100 million students .

15 Divergent Thinking Examples

Divergent thinking is problem-solving that involves generating unusual or unconventional solutions to problems. This is a type of thinking that is flexible, adaptive, and novel.

By looking at a situation from a unique perspective we may experience a “light-bulb” moment that inspires a unique solution. It is the opposite of convergent thinking, which involves finding one solution that is usually based on logic and linear thinking.

This can lead to amazing inventions such as the mobile phone or a simple fix to a simple problem like using a coin to tighten a screw.   

Definition of Divergent Thinking

The term divergent thinking was first coined by J.P. Guilford in 1956. In many ways, divergent thinking is synonymous with creative problem-solving .

Guilford was interested in testing for divergent thinking skills, so he designed the Alternative Uses Task , sometimes also called Guilford’s Test of Divergent Thinking .

The test is quite simple. Present a person with a normal, everyday object, and ask them to generate as many uses for that object as possible within a certain period of time. Although the testing process is fairly straightforward, the scoring is more complicated. Each answer is awarded points on four dimensions: fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration.

Examples of Divergent Thinking

1. using a coin as a flathead screwdriver.

Sometimes we might not have the right size screwdriver to tighten the screw of a shelf or cupboard door. We could call a neighbor and ask to borrow one of their tools, or we could just reach into our pocket and pull out some coins. One of them is bound to work.

This is an example of using a coin in an unusual and creative way. That fits the definition of divergent thinking quite well. It may not seem like the most profound example of creativity , but it does the trick. It solves the problem in a unique way and that’s the very definition of divergent thinking.   

2. Digging with a Fork

A fork is used to eat. However, if you were to think of new ways to use it, you would be engaging in divergent thinking.

One alternative way you might use a fork is to dig a hole. By using the fork as a shovel, you have found a creative solution to your lack of a shovel. Another person might get the fork and decide to use it as an engraving tool and start writing words into the side of a tree. Here, again, they have used divergent thinking.

Teachers will often use everyday implements like this and ask students to think of as many ways as they can to use the implements. By doing this task, teachers are encouraging students to think creatively and avoid the trap of functional fixedness .

3. Influencer Marketing

Central to divergent thinking is brainstorming . This is the process through which you come to new solutions to old problems.

For example, a brainstorming session might lead someone in a workplace to come up with a new way to market their old product. Instead of using traditional marketing techniques, they might go against the grain by giving their product to influencers and ask influencers to show the product to their Instagram or Tik Tok audience.

In fact, marketing is a job that requires divergent thinking all the time. Marketing is a saturated field with every company wanting to get their products in front of your eyes. If you can come up with a new type of television ad or marketing method that stands out from the crowd, you’ve probably been a very successful divergent thinker.

4. The Folding Bike

In 1887, the folding bike was invented by Emmit Latta as a way to make bikes more mobile.

While bicycles are great for getting us from Point A to Point B quickly, what do we do once we have arrived? They are quite clunky, can’t be taken onto public transport, and take up a lot of space when they’re stored.

Latta’s intelligent invention solved a lot of the problems we have with storing and moving bikes around. Now, there are even bikes you can carry on your back then unpack when it’s time to speed from Point A to Point B!

5. The Little Black Dress

Is there a woman alive today in the Western world that does not have an LBD? It is a black evening or cocktail dress made with a simple cut and is usually a bit short. The creator of the little black dress is none other than Coco Channel (Steele, 1988).

Although today it is considered an essential part of any walk-in closet, there was a time when it took the fashion world by storm. Back in the 1920s, Coco wanted to create something that was versatile and affordable to all. Those were concepts in the fashion world that were completely unheard of, and hence, represented divergent thinking at its finest.

Divergent thinking doesn’t have to involve complexity or high-tech inventions; a nice fabric, cut the right way, will do just fine.

6. Synectics  

Synectics may sound like an odd term, but it is actually a very useful way of fostering divergent thinking. The procedure is quite simple. Select a page on the internet at random. It doesn’t matter what type of website it is, just as long as it has a fair amount of text.

Then, close your eyes, take your index finger, move it in a circle a few times and then point it to a spot on the page. Write down the word your finger lands on. Repeat the process from the beginning one more time so that you end up with two words.

Now, try to think of things that could be described by those two words. Or, put them together to form a new word. For instance, if you have “purveyor” and “exception”, what objects or concepts could have connections to both? If you formed a new word, what could it mean?

7. The Smartphone

Although most people think the smartphone was invented by Steve Jobs, that would be incorrect. The first iteration of the smartphone was by IBM in 1994. It was huge and bulky, but it had a touchscreen and even a few apps.

Since then, the smartphone has evolved into an amazing device that can do just about anything: it can take photos, be used to play games with incredible graphics, track your movements wherever you go, and soon, be able to conduct various medical diagnostic tests. Oh, and it can make phone calls as well.

Each of those features represent another milestone in the smartphone’s evolution and another example of divergent thinking.

8. Brainstorming

Brainstorming just may be the most frequently exercised form of divergent thinking. The basic idea is to gather a group of people together, pencil and paper in hand, and for everyone to just write down as many ideas as they can related to a specific topic.

No one is to speak out loud for a few minutes until time is up. Everyone is instructed to just write whatever comes to mind, without fear of sounding foolish or having their ideas rejected by others.

It has become a common practice in most R&D departments of corporations around the world. It is so vital to the creation of new products and inventions, that there is a small niche market of boutique consulting enterprises that specialize in helping companies utilize divergent thinking to their advantage.

9. Children’s Creative Play

Watching young children at play is like witnessing a continuous flow of divergent thinking. A cardboard box is a house, a plane, a bulldozer and a cave where you can hide from dinosaurs.

Simply following a young child throughout their day will provide plenty more examples of children’s amazing abilities to imagine and create. They’re thinking is not constrained by reality and the narrowly defined functions of the objects they encounter. Any thing can become anything.

There is no doubt about it, children are the masters of divergent thinking. And then, they grow up. Surprisingly, some research indicates that developing executive control, a sign of cognitive development, actually inhibits divergent thinking (Vaisarova & Carlson, 2021).

10. Coffee Coke

There is probably no industry that attempts divergent thinking more than the modern-day beverage industry. For decades, there were basically a handful of carbonated beverages to choose from: Coke, Pepsi, and a few others.

However, today, if you go to the refrigerated section of a supermarket or convenience store, you will literally see a hundred different options. There are juices, teas, coffees, sodas, caffeine-infused drinks, vitamin-infused drinks, caffeine drinks infused with vitamins, and the list goes on, and on. The number of choices can be overwhelming.  

Maybe one of the most unique iterations of the cold-beverage offerings is Coffee Coke. It’s a can of cold coke infused with Brazilian coffee. So, if the caffeine from Coke isn’t enough, you can add a jolt of coffee too.

11. Thinking of Ways to Make Money  

If a teenager asks their parents to buy them a car, one response they might get is “to get a job”. Learning to be independent is a goal that most parents have for their children; nothing wrong with that.

One obvious solution that represents convergent thinking is to start applying at local stores and restaurants. Nothing wrong with that either. However, if the teenager is a bit creative then they may think of other, less conventional methods to raise cash.

Brainstorming other ways to make money could lead to starting a small lawn-care business, washing and waxing cars, pressure-washing patios, or editing videos for your friends’ vlogs and Tik Tok posts.  

12. Using a Hot Glue Stick

Believe it or not, a glue stick is a very handy household tool. It can fix a variety of problems that may crop up from time to time. For example, after a while, the rubber insulation that lines the inside of the refrigerator’s doors may come loose. This means the doors won’t close properly and all of your favorite cold-storage foods will spoil.

No need to throw away the frig and buy a new one. Just break-out the trusty hot glue stick and apply the hot glue between the door and rubber lining. Hold the lining firmly in place for 30-seconds, and mission accomplished.  

13. Internalizing Pluralism

If you spend the first 30 years of your life in one country, most likely you will adopt the customs and ways of thinking of that culture. It’s natural. We live around people that think and act in certain ways, so we do too. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But, of course, there is more than one perspective on life out there. If you move to another country that has a completely different culture, in a way, it’s like entering an entire world of divergent thinking.

To illustrate this point, consider the words of Bruce Lee: “The American life is like an Oak tree—he stands firm against the wind. If the wind is strong, he cracks. The Oriental stands like bamboo, bending with the wind and springing back when the wind ceases, stronger than ever before” (Little, 2017, p. 25).  

This is an example of divergent thinking by internalizing a different culture.

See Also: Pluralism in Sociological Theory

14. Children’s Play

From about the age of 4, children start engaging in divergent thinking during playtime. They come up with creative storylines and plots that embrace fantasy and magic. During this playtime, children use the things around them and utilize them in ways entirely unexpected by adults.

For example, a child might use a block of wood and push it along the floor, pretending it’s a car. Here, a child found something that isn’t generally thought of as a toy, and turned it into a toy in order to entertain themselves. They used this block of wood in a way divergent from the norm to enhance their play!

Children can be particularly good at divergent thinking because social norms are not as solidified in their minds yet. They don’t see things as having clear-cut purposes until they have been socialized into it later in life.

15. Survival of the Fittest

Developing a unique and profound insight into the evolution of all living organisms must surely be considered an example of divergent thinking. The concept of survival of the fittest postulates that the living creature that is most capable of adapting to environmental demands has the highest likelihood of propagating the species.

Although made famous by Charles Darwin (1869), Herbert Spencer was the first to actually use the term survival of the fittest . He stated, “This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called ‘natural selection’, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life” (Spencer, 1864, pp. 444-445).

Divergent vs Convergent Thinking

Divergent thinking and convergent thinking are opposites. They represent two different types of thinking that are each valuable in different situations.

Divergent thinking is all about finding new ideas. The term ‘divergent’ comes from ‘diverge’, meaning to separate from the norm. It involves brainstorming, thinking outside of the norm, and thinking creatively to find solutions to problems. It also often involves finding new ways to tackle existing problems and use existing tools.

Convergent thinking is about gathering facts to come up with an answer or solution. It’s seen as the opposite of divergent thinking because you’re gathering information together to come up with one single solution rather than searching around and comparing multiple different solutions.

While convergent thinking is primarily analytical, divergent thinking is primarily creative.

Divergent thinking means generating a novel solution and avoiding simplistic or binary thinking on an issue. It is usually creative and unconventional because it does not conform to linear thinking processes. This can mean using an object in an usual way or seeing how two unrelated concepts can be combined to create something never before considered.

History is full of examples of divergent thinking, such as the numerous iterations of the smartphone that included adding a screen, Apps, internet access, and a camera. Other examples can be found in the world of fashion or observed in a children’s playroom and a magical cardboard box.

Human beings really are an amazing species. Now, if we could only invent something to ensure world peace.

Clapham, M. M. (2003). The development of innovative ideas through creativity training. In Shavinina, L.V. (Ed.). The International Handbook on Innovation (pp. 366-376). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008044198-6/50025-5

Darwin, C. (1869). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection: or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life . London: J. Murray, Fifth edition.

Guilford, J. P. (1956). The structure of intellect. Psychological Bulletin , 53 (4), 267. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0040755

Little, J. (Ed.). (2017). Words of the dragon: Interviews, 1958-1973 . Tuttle Publishing.

Lee, B. (2018). Bruce Lee artist of life: Inspiration and insights from the world’s greatest martial artist (Vol. 6). Tuttle Publishing.

Runco, M. A., & Acar, S. (2019). Divergent thinking. In J. C. Kaufman & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp. 224–254). Cambridge University Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316979839.013

Spencer, H. (1864). The Principles of Biology. Vol. I. London: Williams and Norgate.  System of Synthetic Philosophy ,  2 .

Steele, V. (1988). Paris fashion: A cultural history. Oxford University Press. Vaisarova, J., & Carlson, S. M. (2021). When a spoon is not a spoon: Examining the role of executive function in young children’s divergent thinking. Trends in Neuroscience and Education , 25 , 100161. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2021.100161

Dave Cornell (PhD)

Dr. Cornell has worked in education for more than 20 years. His work has involved designing teacher certification for Trinity College in London and in-service training for state governments in the United States. He has trained kindergarten teachers in 8 countries and helped businessmen and women open baby centers and kindergartens in 3 countries.

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• Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ Perception Checking: 15 Examples and Definition

Chris Drew (PhD)

This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Reviewers ensure all content reflects expert academic consensus and is backed up with reference to academic studies. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU.

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• Chris Drew (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link Perception Checking: 15 Examples and Definition

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Convergent vs Divergent Thinking (Definitions + Examples)

Picture this. You’re at work and your team has a big problem to solve. Everyone sits down together in a room and starts to brainstorm. One person comes up with a solution, but it’s immediately shot down by another coworker. The next person comes up with a solution, and that’s immediately shot down, too. It doesn’t take long for the whole team to feel very frustrated and exhausted. You’ll never come up with a solution if everything is immediately torn apart!

How can you make this situation more productive? The first step is to learn about different types of thinking. By understanding the difference between convergent and divergent thinking, you can more effectively plan out your brainstorming session and come to the best solution without frustration.

Definition of Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Convergent and divergent thinking are relatively new terms in the world of psychology. They were first introduced to the world in 1956 by an American psychologist named J.P. Guilford. These two cognitive approaches, when used appropriately, can be used to solve just about any problem that you face.

Divergent Thinking

Let’s start by talking about divergent thinking. When you think about “brainstorming,” you are thinking about divergent thinking. This type of thinking requires you to expand your mind and find innovative solutions. The possibilities are endless. Divergent thinking allows you to see products in materials in new and different ways.

Mind maps are the best way to put the results of divergent thinking on paper. Mind maps contain ideas that branch off from each other in different directions. There doesn’t have to be a lot of logic used when you are in “divergent thinking” mode. Remember, you are expanding what is possible, not limiting it.

Convergent Thinking

Now, let’s go back to the first example. There was divergent thinking happening - each person was coming up with an “out of the box” idea. But they were quickly getting shot down. The person that was critiquing their argument was in “convergent thinking” mode.

Convergent thinking isn’t bad or unproductive. It’s necessary! This process is more analytical and “realistic.” It uses logic to narrow down ideas. This part of the thinking process requires looking for fallacies and potential problems. By narrowing down ideas that would not possibly work, you can find one or two ideas that will work without a hitch.

Examples of Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Let’s say you’re planning an event, and trying to figure out where to have the event. By putting on your “divergent thinking cap,” you start to brainstorm. How fun would it be to have the event at Disney World? Or at the new hotel that is opening down the street? What about a big outdoor party with tents? All of these venues could attract potential guests and make the event really stand out!

Wow, these are a lot of great ideas!

But let’s approach this same problem with our “convergent thinking cap.” Disney World? Way out of budget, and most of the guests won’t want to travel that far. The new hotel down the street? That’s closer to the budget and guests can easily travel there. A big outdoor party? This is an option too, but only if the cost for lights, heating, and the tents actually did fit in the budget. Would you need a permit to hold the party outside? Would you have to worry about noise complaints?

As you can see, both of these processes are necessary to come to a solution. You can’t just set your heart on Disney World without considering practical factors, like budget or location. But when you do come up with an “out of the box” solution that does fit into your constraints, you’ve got a great solution on your hands.

How to Effectively Use Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Convergent and divergent thinking require two different parts of the brain. While convergent thinking relies more on logic, divergent thinking relies more on creativity. Switching back and forth between the two may not seem like multitasking, but it is a form of multitasking. And multitasking is not as effective as you may think.

In the meeting mentioned at the beginning of this article, your team was constantly switching back and forth between convergent and divergent thinking. Their brain had to switch back and forth, too. No wonder the group became worn out so fast!

Harvard instructors like Anne Manning suggest another approach to convergent and divergent thinking. Rather than doing them in the same meeting, try “batching” your divergent and convergent thinking tasks. Take an hour of the meeting for your team simply to brainstorm ideas. No critiques, no logic, no convergent thinking. Just keep expanding the ideas of where you should hold the event, for a solid block of time.

Give your team a break. This break could be an overnight break - many people have their best creative ideas when they are sleeping, showering, or thinking about other things. Tell your team to write down any more creative ideas that they might have, and bring them to you before the next meeting.

Then, hold a meeting that is focused solely on convergent thinking. Think about the budget. Location. The number of people that you expect to attend the event. You’ll be able to cross some ideas off of your list pretty quickly. That’s okay. Crossing off items on your list quickly means that you’re coming to a solution quickly.

And voila! You’ve found your solution. Now it’s time to focus on other elements of the event. Using inspiration from your previous brainstorms, you can truly make your event the greatest it can be, or solve any problem efficiently. You may decide to make the event Disney-themed, for example, to have a fun event without shelling out the costs of actually going to Florida.

The next time you’re faced with a problem, try this batching technique. You might find yourself coming up with a great solution without frustrations!

Narrowing Down The Ideas

Don't have two days to come up with an idea? Split your team into two groups and let the debate begin! Well, sort of.

Here's how this brainstorming session works. Give two teams a set amount of time (maybe 30-60 minutes) to brainstorm all ideas without any sort of dissent or questioning. Write them all down on the left side of a piece of paper. At the end of the time period, switch the sheets of paper between the two teams. (You may find overlap. That's good!) Set another time period for the groups to engage in divergent thinking. Instruct them to eliminate most of the ideas, leaving a handful for the first group to choose from. At the end of the second time period, switch the papers back to the original groups.

If both groups still have not come to a consensus about the idea for moving forward, instruct each group to choose  one  of their remaining ideas to bring to the table. Once that is chosen, both groups will present that idea and the decision will be put to a vote amongst both groups.

Choose Your Best Team Members for Each Job

If you have a strong team that respects each other's processes, you may want to split your team up by their strengths and allow some to focus on convergent thinking or divergent thinking. Some team members naturally lean toward one or the other. Allowing people to show off their strengths can get your team the best answer in a process that everyone enjoys.

How do you know which team members are more skilled at convergent vs. divergent thinking? There are a few ways to find out.

Have an Open Dialogue

Give your team members the opportunity to choose which type of thinking they would like to engage in (if they have to pick.) Get to know their preferred forms of brainstorming. You may find that your team naturally prefers one type of thinking over the other. You may also find that they like to brainstorm in different ways! Keep an open mind.

Give it a Few Trial Runs

If everyone is shrugging their shoulders, go through a few trial runs. Split the teams randomly or bring everyone together to brainstorm ideas. Clearly split your time between convergent vs. divergent thinking. You will find that some team members have a hard time with convergent thinking, or others fail to speak up once the convergent thinking is over! As you notice these patterns, you will get a better sense of which "group" prefers one style over the other.

Go by Myers Briggs

Does your team all know their Myers Briggs type? Use this to indicate which members are likely more inclined to participate in convergent vs. divergent thinking. Team members best suited for convergent thinking include:

These aren't the only team members who should participate in convergent thinking, but it gives you a good idea of who you might want in the room during this brainstorming portion.

The best divergent thinkers include:

This isn't set in stone. Trust your team members. If they prefer one style over the other, give them the chance to shine!

Other Ideas for Brainstorming

Knowing the differences between convergent vs. divergent thinking can help you brainstorm. However, this approach may not be the best process for every team. Below are some other ways to brainstorm new ideas and find solutions to your most pressing problems.

Storyboarding

Get your team together and treat your problem like a conflict in a book.  Create a "storyboard" that explains what led to the problem and the conflict at hand. (Post-its and erasable markers are great tools for this type of brainstorming!) This method gives your team a new way to look at your problem.

SCAMPER offers a great set of prompts for a conversation about solutions. This is a great form of brainstorming for teams that are generally not convergent thinkers.

SCAMPER stands for:

• Substitute :  What would happen to the project if we swapped X for Y?
• Combine :  What would happen to the project if we combined X and Y?
• Adapt :  What changes would need to be made to adapt this project to a different context?
• Modify :  What could we modify to create more value on this project?
• Put to another use :  What other uses or applications might this project have?
• Eliminate :  What could we remove from the project to simplify it?
• Reverse :  How could we reorganize this project to make it more effective?

Six Thinking Hats

In 1985, psychologist Edward de Bono wrote "Six Thinking Hats" about a problem-solving exercise that involved roleplay. He described six different "hats" a person could wear as they brainstormed new ideas:

• Logic : Facts
• Optimism : Value and benefits.
• Devil’s Advocate : Difficulties and dangers
• Emotion : Feelings and intuitions
• Creativity : Possibilities and new ideas
• Management : Manager of other "hats"

What would happen if you chose six people on your team to wear these "hats?" Would they think about a solution in a new way? Would they come up with great, new ideas? There is only one way to find out!

There are so many great ways to brainstorm new ideas. Try out a few different methods, be aware of convergent vs. divergent thinking, and enjoy solving your team's biggest problems!

Related posts:

• Functional Fixedness (Definition + Examples)
• Social Loafing (Definition + Examples)
• Lewin’s Change Theory (Definition + Examples)
• Kurt Lewin Biography - Contributions To Psychology
• Social Groups in Psychology

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Divergent Thinking

Advantages of using divergent thinking , how to implement divergent thinking , convergent vs. divergent thinking, what is the divergent thinking psychology definition, how to combine divergent and convergent thinking for optimal results , techniques to stimulate divergent thinking, .css-uphcpb{position:absolute;left:0;top:-87px;} what is divergent thinking, definition of divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking, often referred to as lateral thinking, is the process of creating multiple, unique ideas or solutions to a problem that you are trying to solve. Through spontaneous, free-flowing thinking, divergent thinking requires coming up with many different answers or routes forward.

Divergent thinking can benefit work processes in the following ways:

Best possible solutions 

Increased team morale.

By dismissing the first idea, teams are encouraged to think outside the box and exercise their creativity. This encourages teamwork as they compare ideas and collectively work towards one goal, boosting team morale.

All You Need To Know About Product Management

More flexibility 

When faced with a complex problem, divergent thinking allows management to adapt their plans and processes to find an appropriate new solution, encouraging proactive development as opposed to restrictive reactive thinking. 

Too much divergent thinking can lead to endless ideation , and no solutions.

That’s where convergent thinking comes in handy. Convergent thinking organizes and structures new ideas, separating those with worth from those which can be left behind.

Creative problem solving begins with divergent thinking — to collect free-flowing ideas — before converging them so they’re relevant to the issue at hand. 

Both stages are critical. The divergent stage pushes you to explore all possible options, while the convergent stage ensures you’ve chosen the most appropriate solutions given the context.

Convergent thinking focuses on finding a well-defined solution to a problem by embracing clear solutions and structure.

For example, if a copy machine breaks at work, someone identifying as a convergent thinker would quickly call a technician to fix the machine.

Usually, project managers embrace convergent thinking without even knowing it, so you might already be familiar with this mentality.

Benefits of convergent vs. divergent thinking:

There is no room for ambiguity.

You tend to find solutions more quickly.

Perfect for linear processes and organization.

It allows you to align teams, plan projects, and create workflows in the most efficient way possible.

It’s a straight-to-the-point kind of approach to problem-solving.

Divergent thinking refers to the creative solutions you could find for a problem. This type of thinking allows for more freedom and helps you generate more than one solution by typically using brainstorming as the cognitive method.

Although the means differ from convergent thinking, the end goal is the same — to find the best idea.

For example, a divergent thinker would try to find the cause and develop a fix for that broken copy machine from the previous example.

They might even send a company-wide email to check whether any employees have fixed copy machines before.

Benefits of divergent vs. convergent thinking:

Using creativity to find solutions to problems.

Analyze ideas from different angles.

Identify and apply new opportunities.

Helps the user adopt a learning mindset.

Stand out from competitors by implementing creative ways to solve common problems.

Helps you learn and understand other people’s perspectives when brainstorming.

Divergent thinking involves a whole range of psychological steps. Usually, divergent thinking happens in a free-flowing and spontaneous manner, so ideas appear in a random, non-linear manner.

This is how divergent thinking opens the mind to potentially limitless solutions to problems that might not be obvious through linear, convergent thinking.

Divergent thinking is an essential part of creative thinking.

The best idea is never found by luck or pure chance. The creative process involves many steps that lead to new ideas.

From plucking out varieties of possible results to applying the idea to the problem at hand, divergent thinking is bound to lead you to more unique ideas than more straightforward, convergent thinking.

Achieving the best outcome through divergent and convergent thinking might seem challenging at first, but get it right and it can pay off in exciting and valuable ways.

Start with divergent thinking. You and your team may need to break out of established ideation routines and embrace a fresh approach, which is often difficult. Try to make it easier by being open to all possibilities and assuring your product team that there are no wrong ideas at this point. 

Look at all the potential choices and ideas available to you. Consider problems from all angles, including from the perspective of target users. You know their pain points and what solutions they’re looking for. That insight can help you make the most of divergent thinking. 

Next, move on to convergent thinking. Here you want to think about what is rather than what could be . Analyze your options, and compare their pros and cons carefully. When you have a comprehensive list of your ideas' good and bad points, you’ll find it easier to pick the best ones. 

Having trouble getting your team to try divergent thinking? Here are a few ways to kick-start the process:

Ask questions 

Some members of your product team may not know where to start. Stimulate divergent thinking by asking questions about the issue at hand and their views on it. 

Try roleplay

Have one team member play the role of a customer complaining about a product or a specific feature, and another could try to help them with it. This can spark discussions that lead to solutions.

Brainstorm possibilities

As a team, come up with as many ideas as possible, no matter how unrealistic they may be. Even one good option can lead to breakthroughs.

Create a mind map

Mind mapping takes a visual approach to brainstorming. Write the core goal/issue in the center of a sheet of paper or whiteboard, and get team members to write down thoughts about it.

Defer judgment until later

Avoid praising or criticizing ideas during the ideation process. Take note of everything, then analyze them later to find out how viable ideas are. 

Support strange and unusual ideas

Even if an idea seems ridiculous, there still might be something useful there. Encourage team members to open their minds to every possibility, no matter how bizarre they might be.

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