Promoting Creative Thinking in Economics Instruction Through Learning Management Systems

21st-century education emphasizes the development of creative thinking skills among prospective economics educators through the use of Learning Management Systems (LMS). This study addresses the challenge of limited lecturer utilization of LMS with Single Sign-On (SSO) in higher education institutions. The research aims to describe the growth of creative thinking based on pre-test and post-test results in the Instructional Material Development course, focusing on divergent and convergent thinking dimensions. This qualitative descriptive study involved 110 students from the 2024 cohort of the Economics Education department at a higher education institution in Indonesia. Total sampling was employed as all students in the class actively participated in the learning process under investigation. The analysis was conducted by comparing pre-test and post-test scores using divergent and convergent indicators. The improvement in students' creative thinking was measured separately for each dimension and analyzed using percentage increases. The findings indicate that integrating LMS into the Instructional Material Development course positively influences students' creative thinking. The highest divergent thinking scores were observed in the pre-test, while the highest convergent thinking scores appeared in the post-test. Overall, LMS-based learning was effective in fostering both divergent and convergent aspects of creative thinking. It is recommended that LMS integration be further optimized in the Instructional Material Development course to enhance creative thinking skills among prospective educators.