set goals, reflect, revise, and assess their progress. Short timelines can limit both creativity and assessment and can result in products that are less than satisfactory to the learners.It is important to acknowledge that learning is complex, and the various ways learners engage in the experiences we design for them are multifaceted. This book does not assert that students need to engage in creative pursuits all the time, every day in our classrooms. Indeed, there are times when listening to others is critical. There are moments when exploring patterns and algorithms is highly advisable. There are times when direct instruction is the most effective way to explain concepts and skills and guided practice is the most efficient way to build confidence. Creativity is a highly desirable and important aspect of human learning, but it is not the only one. Therefore, there are times when the threats in table 1.2 emerge as the most effective approaches in certain contexts. However, when creative processes are always on the back burner in favor of more expedient approaches, then the scales have tipped too far in the other direction. Teaching is about finding a balance and developing a vast skill set that readies learners for the life in front of them.
It is also important to note that embedded within the creative process, there will be moments of direct instruction. If a student is struggling to organize his or her thinking, the teacher may need to offer directed guidance. Similarly, when a student is preparing to express his or her creativity, a teacher may offer a systematic guide for effective speaking. Creativity in classrooms is not without teacher intervention and support. There are times when the most direct route to the solution to a smaller problem can open up creative growth in other areas. We do not have to choose between creativity and instruction. Both live in partnership within the creative process. Paul A. Kirschner, John Sweller, and Richard E. Clark (2006) assert the importance of teacher guidance during creative learning: “In so far as there is any evidence from controlled studies, it almost uniformly supports direct, strong instructional guidance … during the instruction of novice to intermediate learners” (p. 83). Understanding the important role of the teacher in creative work is critical. The interplay between student decision making and exploration and assessment to guide targeted instruction and support is vital for ensuring that students gain the maximum benefits of creative work.
Assessment Processes That Unlock Creativity
When we imagine new ways of designing our assessment and instruction to support creativity, it is not so much about throwing everything out and starting again. We aren’t going to stop using summative assessment, nor are we going to suddenly change every aspect of our learning environment. Like much of the growing we do in our lives, the shift is more about looking at existing practices in new ways. It is using the skills and processes we already possess, but using them differently. Accomplishing this change might involve exploring our existing practices with a different lens. In creative classrooms, teachers still preassess to determine students’ needs and strengths. They invite goal setting and reflection from the learners in the room. They continue to utilize formative assessment to guide instruction and support feedback and self-assessment processes. And they still make time to verify learning through summative assessment. These types of assessment processes are critical in any kind of learning environment because they support long-term learning. However, how they unfold or manifest may be a little different from what we usually practice, especially with regard to teachers’ and students’ roles in the assessment process. This book will focus on three of these assessment practices, which constitute the heart of assessment to support creativity: (1) formative assessment (information gathering), (2) feedback (dialogue with others), and (3) self-assessment (dialogue with self). See the reproducible “Applying Assessment Within the Stages of the Creative Process” (pages 45–46) for information on how these types of assessment apply within each stage of the creative process, and guiding questions for assessment work in each stage. The following sections will explore the shift in classroom roles as we use assessment to promote creativity; note the ways in which teachers may apply formative assessment, provide feedback, and facilitate self-assessment; and examine the need for explicit instruction for supporting feedback and self-assessment among students.
Assessment Roles for Teachers and Students
In classrooms where teachers work to develop creativity, assessment processes most often rest in the hands of learners, as opposed to remaining solely the responsibility of teachers. Teachers still play a part, of course, but their role shifts to facilitator and co-constructor as opposed to director and owner. Readers may wonder if elementary-age students are capable of assessing. It has been my experience that even students in the earliest schooling years are indeed able to assess and apply impressive insights as they reflect on their and their classmates’ work.
Teachers may choose the direction of the creative process based on learning goals, but they shift decision making to the students at critical times. The majority of this process involves teachers observing and engaging in conversations, collecting formative assessment information, and responding through feedback, conferring, and guiding students’ self- and peer assessment, goal setting, and questioning processes.
When teachers use summative assessment, they have likely witnessed student problem solving, brainstorming, questioning, and experimenting after a highly organic learning process. In many ways, these teachers are more equipped to reflect on the learning of students because the creative processes that led to the products and artifacts they are examining are so rich. Creative processes build deep relationships between learners and the teacher guiding and supporting them. Furthermore, teachers who work to develop student creativity get even more insight into learners’ progress on learning goals because they bear witness to students forming learning relationships with themselves. As students increase the control they have over their learning contexts, previously unseen qualities may become evident. For example, we may see students relish the opportunity to ask their own questions. We may see them hesitate as they wonder how to approach a challenge. We might witness their frustration and then pride as problems emerge and they overcome them, and observe them taking risks and collaborating with others. Students may also document many of these processes in creative portfolios. This kind of learning and the documentation that can accompany it nurtures a deep knowledge of our learners, so when the time comes to verify learning goals, teachers can make a professional judgment with confidence. With these criteria in front of them and the knowledge of their learners in hand, educators can engage in summative assessment that truly reflects the learning they want to see from students.
Formative Assessment (Information Gathering)
While summative assessment is a critical aspect of our work as teaching professionals, formative assessment is truly the bread and butter of developing creativity. During the creative process, formative assessment serves to propel the growth and development of ideas. At every stage of the creative process, from exploration to elaboration and expression, formative assessment serves as the basis for decision making and refinement because it connects what is happening in the moment to a desired future state.
During the creative process, formative assessment will occur
