The Effects of Convergent and Divergent Computer Software on Children's Critical and Creative Thinking.
Curtis Jay Bonk · 1988
Although there have been many claims regarding the cognitive and creative .benefits of computer software, research results are conflicting. Thus, the intent of the present research project was to evaluate the usefulness of computer software in enhancing children's thinking skills. In this experiment, forty 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade students were randomly assigned to either a convergent software treatment or a divergent software treatment. Subjects then interacted for 25 hours with numerous software packages designed to encourage the thinking skills of their treatment. At the end of the treatment period, three thinking skill tests were administered. As hypothesized, subjects in the divergent group scored higher than the convergent group on all fourteen measures within the creative thinking test. Howevor, only one of these fourteen comparisons was at a significant level. No differences were found on either the critical thinking test or the creative