can they reach their potential. This book will explore the relationship between assessment and creativity, providing practical ideas for connecting the two processes within any classroom setting, and share processes for engaging students in the continuous goal setting and establishing of criteria firmly embedded within the creative process.
Each chapter focuses on a key aspect of creativity in our classrooms. We begin with chapter 1, which examines the connection between creativity and assessment. Next, chapter 2 discusses the importance of establishing creative spaces that attend to learners’ intellectual, emotional, and physical needs. Finally, chapters 3 through 6 explore the four critical stages of the creative process: (1) exploration (students explore concepts and questions), (2) elaboration (students expand on a concept or question, developing skills and conducting research along the way), (3) expression (students choose a form for their creative output around the concept or question they have chosen to focus on), and (4) reflection and response (students examine the product of their work and the feedback they receive and decide how to move forward).
The following recurring features will help make the connection between assessment and creativity clear and attainable in classroom settings.
Final Thoughts
In developing creative thinkers, we ask our students to consider what it feels like to learn, solve problems, innovate, and design. We ask them how it feels to be messy and experimental and to take risks, make mistakes, and solve problems. We want them to explore how it feels to wonder deeply and make connections in meaningful ways, curating variables to meet specific needs. We want learners who reflect on not only their products and performances but also the decisions they make as they engage in creative processes. Effective assessment processes move students through this learning, developing and refining both the knowledge and skills again, while also developing independence, autonomy, and creativity.
At the end of the day, we want schools where learners can explore complex learning in a variety of ways, with a strong focus on creative pursuits and inquiry. We need students to dig deeper and deeper into areas about which they are passionate—the kinds of learning we want from students will emerge out of this kind of exploration and wonder. To accomplish this, we simply have to trust the power of creativity and the students who engage in it, and we have to trust ourselves to craft classroom assessments that support this kind of learning.
1
The Integrated Nature of Assessment and the Creative Process
Imagine a physical education teacher invites his students into a creative process during a physical education class. He has spent a few weeks exploring a number of net games (for example, tennis, volleyball, table tennis), and the class is ready to use a creative process to determine degrees of understanding and skill. He decides he wants students to apply what they learn about net games to a new game of their own creation. The teacher invites them to choose equipment and design rules. He then offers them the chance to try the game with classmates, in order to identify strategies and tactics that advance their game. He asks students to create a scoring system and parameters for wins and losses.
During this creative process, the teacher engages in assessment with the students. During exploration, he might preassess students to determine the degree to which they understand what makes net games unique. He checks their understanding of rules during tennis, badminton, volleyball, and pickle ball. He ensures they have a grasp of the critical features of a net game. For those students who are struggling with this content, he offers additional instructional support and practice, so learners can successfully engage in the creative process in relation to this topic (building foundational domain knowledge).
Students may begin to brainstorm ideas for their own game, exploring the equipment in the storage room and talking with each other about their ideas. The teacher interacts with students at this stage, asking probing questions and handing out a list of the criteria that they need to attend to in their design (equipment, rules, scoring, and so on). At the end of exploration, students write their two best ideas on a goal sheet. They will narrow down their choices the next day.
When they arrive the next day, the students examine their goal sheets and talk with a partner about their two best ideas. Their partner offers them advice and asks further questions. (The teacher might introduce question starters to help students frame their questions, if this is new.) He observes the pairings and looks for signs of indecision or stalled conversation. He then joins groups, as needed, to support their efforts during the elaboration stage of their work. During this class, students choose their final idea and create a graphic organizer that allows them to articulate their decisions in relation to these criteria. In the middle of this class period, the teacher stops the students and invites them to reflect on what they accomplished so far and what they need to do next. He adds to the criteria (perhaps team positions or performance cues important to their game). Learners then re-engage in their work, enhancing their ideas and refining their thinking. They may watch videos or partner to explore equipment. At this stage, they are welcome to make changes on any decision. In fact, the teacher invites students to reflect on their own efforts in relation to criteria often, to ensure they are satisfied with their efforts. At the end of this class, students add their most recent decisions to their documentation. The teacher then prepares learners to commit to their games by the following day, so they can begin to determine how best to share ideas with the class. Students are encouraged to think about their designs in their spare time and make any changes they feel they need to, to enhance their games.
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