Creativity Assessment

Marinela Cojocariu, Romania

Marinela Cojocariu is a teacher of English at Vasile Goldis University of Arad, Romania, head of the department of Applied Foreign Languages. She holds a PhD in English Literature and has published two books on the British writer Iris Murdoch: The Wide World of Iris Murdoch’s Characters and Iris Murdoch in Romania. She is currently teaching British Culture and Civilization within the department of Humanities and Political Science. Her professional interests are focused on the human side of education, especially on the role of creativity in teaching a foreign language. E-mail: marinelacojocariu@yahoo.com

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Introduction
Creativity
Creativity in class
Methods and techniques
Conclusions
References

Introduction

It has always been difficult to keep track of that elusive spark we call creativity often associated with artistic endeavors. But what do we really mean when we use the term creativity? As teachers of English, we know that creativity is not confined solely to the arts and it is a human trait which can manifest itself across a range of skills. The article will attempt to define creativity by focusing on its main aspects, as creativity conjures up more than one definition and is it far more subjective. Can creativity be measured? To what extend is subjectivity measurable? Is assessment a motivation or a hindrance for the students’ creative development? How can we avoid rigid assessment criteria, which might destroy creativity, and still have something to rely on? The aim of this article is to offer possible answers to the questions mentioned above, providing a focal point for debate and research.

Creativity

Creativity is deemed to be the ability to imagine or invent something new. It is not the ability to create out of nothing, but the ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas. Some creative ideas are astonishing and brilliant, while others are just simple, good, practical ideas that no one seems to have thought of yet. It might seem difficult to believe but everyone has substantial creative ability. It is present in all children who are extremely creative when playing, but, unfortunately less present in adults. Their creativity had diminished because of education which in most cases challenges memory while solving problems is based on knowledge acquired and not through creative thinking.

Creativity is also an attitude towards life. It is the capacity to embrace newness, a willingness to play with ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of perspective, the habit of looking for ways to improve the world around us. Creativity represents the capacity to accept change as any change is a challenge to improve things, to solve problems. A problem should be considered an opportunity. Solving problems will build confidence, increase happiness, and give people a better sense of control over life. Creativity can also represent a process. Contrary to the mythology surrounding creativity, very, very few works of creative excellence are produced with a single stroke of brilliance or in a frenzy of rapid activity. Creative people work hard and continually to improve ideas and solutions, by making gradual alterations and refinements to their works. The creative person knows that there is always room for improvement.

Creativity in class

But why is creativity important in the language classroom? There is only one answer to this question and that is because language use is a creative act. The need to use language precisely and accurately proceeds from the imagination and creativity of the students. They transform thoughts into language that can be heard or seen. Most of them are capable of producing sentences and even long texts that we have never heard or seen before.

Students use language to do certain creative tasks, so they use it as a tool, in its original function. This prepares them for using the language outside the classroom, in real situations. Creative work can lead to genuine communication and co-operation. Creative tasks enrich classroom work, and they make it more varied and more enjoyable by tapping into individual talents, ideas and thoughts - both the learners’ and the teacher’s. By giving learners creative exercises, we get them to practice an important sub-skill of using a language: thinking creatively. Creative thinking is an important skill in real life. It is part of our survival strategies and it is a force behind personal growth and the development of culture and society. Students can look at their own solutions to problems and their own products and see what they are able to achieve.

The reason why creativity is so difficult to pin down is because people hold very different views of creativity. Some think they aren’t creative at all and it is only the privileged and artistically talented that can be considered creative. And there are the others who think that cooking dinner is already a clear sign of creativity. In my experience, some students cannot learn at all if they are not allowed to be creative. They do not understand the point in doing a language activity for its own sake, for only practicing the language without a real content, purpose, outcome or even a product. My experience also taught me that most students become more motivated, inspired or challenged if they can create something of value. I think that students can be considered creative if:

• they speak about or write about what they are thinking;
• they say things in the foreign language they never heard or read;
• they think about rules, problems and how things and language work instead of just being told;
• they are given tasks for which there is no one possible answer and the answers will vary from one to another.

I also think that as teachers if we have ever changed an activity in the course book or a resource book to match the needs of a particular group then we can consider ourselves creative!

How do we know that someone is creative? How can creativity be measured? Is it necessary to measure it? Can assessment help us encourage a student’s creativity? Wouldn’t assessment be an impediment in the development in a student? These are very difficult questions to answer. Creativity assessment might be regarded as an attempt to recognize or identify creative characteristics or abilities among people, or to understand their creative strengths and potentials. There are many valid and important reasons for being concerned with creativity assessment. I have identified a number of general roles for creativity assessment which include:

• To make creativity less mysterious
• To help teacher discover untapped potential
• To help students become aware of their own strengths and talents
• To give a boost to students who fall outside society’s norm
• To expand students’ risk-taking parameters;

Although there has been growing emphasis on the importance of creativity and thinking skills in education, it does not seem that systematic efforts to measure creativity and problem solving are common at all, in relation to assessment of students’ characteristics and needs. The complex nature of creativity cannot be captured effectively and comprehensively by any single instrument or analytical procedure. Teachers might at best compare previous products or motivation levels. Consensual agreement amongst teaching staff concerning individuals is possibly going on, but there is no single instrument which might be used to assess all the relevant and important aspects of creativity. No matter the type of assessment we use, the outcomes of assessing creativity are the same. They are:

• Who are the most (or least) creative students in this class;
• What characteristics suggest that a particular student is very creative;
• How creativity is expressed differently among students of varying learning styles;
• What is the best climate for creative outcomes;
• How is creativity expressed through products;
• How teachers might optimize a class performance;

There is a wealth of assessment methods used to assess students’ achievements, in general, but it is difficult to choose the ones that evaluate their creativity. When choosing assessment items, we tend to stay with the known or the “tried and true methods”, because they seem to have the ring of academic respectability, or possibly because it was the way we were assessed as undergraduates ourselves. From learners’ perspectives, however, it often seems as if we are turning them into “essay producing machines” or “examination junkies”. On top of everything, it is also true that every assessment method will place some students at a disadvantage to some extent, so a range of types of assessment is desirable to hopefully reduce the element of disadvantage suffered by any particular student.

Methods and techniques

When choosing methods it is important to offer variety to learners in the way they demonstrate their learning, and to help them develop a well-rounded set of abilities. When considering assessment types, it is particularly useful to think first what qualities and skills we want to develop in our students. The most important types of assessment are:

1. Essays that can be an answer to a question in the form of continuous connected prose. The object of the essay should be to test the ability to discuss, evaluate, analyse, summarise and criticise. Two dangers with essays are that they are easy to plagiarise, and that undue weight is often given to factors such as style, handwriting and grammar.
2. Assignment - a learning task undertaken by the students allowing them to cover a certain part of the curriculum predominantly through independent study. Different methods of presenting the results can be used dependent on the nature of the task:
   • a report (oral or written),
   • newspaper or magazine article,
   • a taped radio program, a video,
   • a poster,
   • a book review,
   • a contribution to a debate, etc.
   It is vital to be clear in the assessment criteria how important the medium is compared with the message, so if it is a video how important is the quality of the lighting, the style of the editing, etc. compared with the content that is covered. If aspects of the medium are important then time must be given in the course for these to be taught.
3. Individual project seen as a longer investigation carried out by a student into a topic agreed on by student and assessor. In many ways similar to an assignment, the main difference is that the student chooses the particular focus and/or medium of presentation. As with any assessment where the product will vary significantly from student to student it is vital that the criteria are sufficiently well written to be fair when applied to different results.
4. Group project where either an assignment or project is undertaken collectively by groups of students working collaboratively. This has the pragmatic advantage of potentially reducing the tutor’s assessment workload and the educational advantage of helping to develop the students’ team working skills. The major assessment problem is how to identify each individual’s role and contribution and to reward it fairly. Solutions (none of which is problem free) tend to include combinations of individual component which can be individually assessed, tutor observation, and involving the students in some self and/or peer assessment as the ones in the best position to judge.
5. Examination. This can take a variety of different forms. The most common factors are that it is done under comparatively short, timed conditions which ensure it is the student’s own work. Major criticisms are that because of the comparatively short time allowed answers may inevitably be superficial and/or not all the learning outcomes may be assessed. They may also encourage the learning by heart. This can be avoided if the focus of the tasks set is on the application of what has been learnt, presenting the student with a previously unseen context or scenario or set of data which they have to “do” something with.
6. Performance. In many cases, when it comes to practical outcomes, the only sensible way of really assessing whether an outcome has been learnt is through watching the student actually perform it - whether it is literally a performance, as in the performing arts, or just a presentation.
7. Self and peer assessment. There is strong evidence that involving students in the assessment process can have very definite educational benefits. Not so much a type of assessment like those already listed, this is something which can be done in conjunction with any type of assessment. The important aspect is that it involves the student in trying to apply the assessment criteria for themselves. The may include:
   • marking other students’ work (i.e. allocating marks which actually count in some way) and giving them feedback (which they can then possibly redraft before submission to the tutor);
   • a seminar presentation, for example, or
   • a written product using a model answer.

The evidence is that through trying to apply criteria, or marks using a model answer, the student gains much greater insight into what is actually being required and subsequently their own work improves in the light of this. An additional benefit is that it may enable the students to be set more learning activities on which they will receive feedback.

Conclusions

In conclusion I can say that, unfortunately, with the amount of knowledge students are forced to learn there is little room for creative activities. Teaching becomes a creative experience one that needs continuous improvement, while assessment is a necessity. We assess not only students’ performance but our own and that is why I do believe that creative teaching can lead to more self-confident students, more creative ones for whom problems do not represent a tragedy but just another opportunity. In assessing creativity it is important to design activities to help students develop their creative skills and to assess their creative performance and products according to their language knowledge. But most of all, it is important to know your students!

References

Basadur, M. , Wakabayaski, M. & Graen , G. (1990). Individual problem-solving styles and attitudes toward divergent thinking before and after training. Creativity Research Journal 3(1), pp22-32

Craft, A. (2003) “The limits to creativity in education: Dilemmas for the educator” in British Journal of Education Studies 51 (2) 113-127.

Cropley, A. (2000). Defining and measuring creativity: Are creativity tests worth using? Roper Review, 23(2) , 72-79.

Ford, C. & Gioia, D. (2000). Factors influencing creativity in the domain of managerial decision-making. Journal of Management, 26(4) , 705-32.

Gardner, H.(2000). Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligence for the Twenty First Century. Basic Books, New York.

Isaksen, S.G , Murdoch , M.C. , Firestien, R.L and Treffinger , D.J. (Eds) (1993) Understanding and Recognizing Creativity : the Emergence of a Discipline. Norwood , N.J: Ablex , p. 34-99.

Jeffrey, M. and Craft, A (2004) “Teaching creativity and teaching for creativity: distinctions and relationships” in Education Studies, vol. 3. , No.1

Nightingale, P., Te Wiata, I.T, Toohey, S. Ryan, G. Hughes, C. Magin, D. (1996). Assessing Learning in Universities Professional Development Center , University of New South Wales, Australia.

Pope, R. (1995). Textual Intervention Routledge , London.

Pope, R.(2005). Creativity: Theory, History, Practice, London & New York: Routledge (2005).

Steiner, G. (2001). Grammars of Creation. Yale University Press , USA

Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.