Creativity Easy

8/18/2019 Creativity Easy

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We can assesscreativity—and, in the process, help studentsbecome more creative.Susan M. Brookhart

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ifth graders were busy writingacrostic poems on smallposters. One girl wrote aschool spirit poem, with the

first letter of each line spellingout the school name: S for “super,” Nfor “nice,” and so on. She even drew apicture of a bobcat (pictures were notrequired) that was a spot-on replicationof the school mascot. A boy wrotean acrostic poem with the first letterof each line spelling out his name: Afor “agressive” (unfortunately spelledincorrectly); N for “nutty”; and so on.No picture.

So what kind of feedback did theteacher give? Her comments gave stu-dents the impression that the girl’spoem was perfect and that the boy’spoem was not so good, mostly becauseof that one misspelled word and the factthat his lines sloped downward on theposter.

This assignment was a giant missedopportunity for both students. Thegirl’s work was a skillful replication ofthings she’d seen before. All the words

Assessing

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were simple, the school spirit themewas a common one, and the point ofher drawing was to duplicate the schoolmascot. She needed to know that herwork was proficient—but she alsoneeded to be challenged to work withmore originality when writing poems.She only received half that feedback.

The boy’s work was more original. Although the poem was only fivelines long, it gave readers a real senseof who he was—or, at least, howhe saw himself. He needed to knowthat he had used a prescribed formatcreatively—but he also needed to be

challenged to check his spelling and usea ruler to make straight lines of text onposters. He, too, only received half thatfeedback.

What was missing in the teacher’sfeedback is easy to diagnose—her cri-teria for success were too limited—butit’s harder to put right. Can creativity be an assessment category? If so, howdo you handle it? Surely you wouldn’tdowngrade the girl’s perfectly goodpoem, beautifully and dutifully writtenand presented.

Here’s how to assess and givefeedback about creativity and, in the

process, help students become morecreative in their work.

What Is Creativity?

Creativity is a simple concept that canbe difcult to get your head around.In its most basic sense, creative means“original and of high quality” (Perkins,1981, p. 6). The girl’s school spiritpoem was of high quality, but it wasworkmanlike and derivative. The boy’sself-analysis poem was original, and thepoetic composition and word choicewere ne; he just needed to attendto the quality of the mechanics. Of

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course, a poem that is uninterpretableor meaning less, no matter how original,can’t be creative.

What does it look like whenschoolwork is original and of highquality? Probably the foremost char-acteristic of creative students is thatthey put things together in new ways(Brookhart, 2010). For example,while writing a poem about a sunset,a student who observes that momentwhen the sunset looks very much likea sunrise and makes the connection toother endings that can also foreshadowbeginnings is more creative than astudent who describes that moment as“red and fiery.”

Students who are able to put thingstogether in new ways can observethings others might miss, constructmore novel products, give more novelperformances, use more unusual orunconventional imagery to make points,

observe ordinary things and find inthem an area to wonder about or aproblem to solve, and the like.

Not all schoolwork, even perfor-mance assessments, supports this sortof thinking. Before you can assess cre-ativity, you need to make sure that thetasks you set for students are conduciveto creativity.

Stimulating Creative ThinkingMyriad opportunities for fosteringcreativity are right under our noses inschool, because learning is a generativeact. However, what’s missing in many

classrooms is deliberately noticing andnaming opportunities for creativitywhen they occur, giving feedback on thecreative process, and teaching studentsthat creativity is a valued quality.

Brainstorming in any subject can bea creative activity. Elementary teacherswho ask students to begin the writingprocess with a graphic organizer, list, oroutline can give feedback on the origi-nality of the ideas as well as their suit-ability for the writing assignment. Forexample, an elementary teacher mightask students to list several farm animals,imagine a funny situation that might

ssignments that require students to producene ideas or reorganize existing ideas in a ne

ay are likely to foster student creativity .

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happen to each, and then pick oneanimal and write a story about it.

Science teachers who have studentsbrainstorm a list of hypotheses to testcan give feedback on the originalityof ideas as well as their suitability forthe experiment that the students willdesign. For example, a teacher mightmention that her coffee cools tooquickly in the cup and then ask stu-dents to brainstorm a list of things thatmight slow down the cooling process,write a hypothesis about each one,and design an experiment to test onehypothesis.

Assignments that require studentsto produce new ideas or reorganize

existing ideas in a new way are likelyto foster student creativity. In math-ematics, asking students to identifya problem for which multiplicationwould be useful in finding the solutionrequires more creativity from them thangiving students a multiplication wordproblem to solve. Similarly, in music, anassignment in which students write anoriginal melody requires more creativitythan one in which they analyze a pre-existing melody.

Assignments that require students toput two things together are also likelyto promote creativity. For example,in English language arts, asking stu-dents to write or speak about how

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer wouldhave been different had HuckleberryFinn been the main character sparksmore creativity than asking students todiscuss the character of Tom Sawyer.In social studies, asking students howthe events that led up to World War Imight be handled if they happenedtoday fosters more creativity thanasking students to discuss the causes of

World War I. Students will still exhibit a range of

originality and quality in their work,even in response to these more creativeprompts. Teachers can give feedback onboth of these aspects of the work.

Sometimes teachers and students

A S C D / W W W . A S C D . O R G 31

FIGURE 1. Rubric for Creativity

Very Creative Creative Ordinary/Routine Imitative

Variety ofideas andcontexts

Variety ofsources

Combining ideas

Communicatingsomething new

Ideas represent astartling variety ofimportant conceptsfrom different con-texts or disciplines.

Created product drawson a wide variety ofsources, including dif-ferent texts, media,resource persons, orpersonal experiences.

Ideas are combinedin original and sur-prising ways to solvea problem, address anissue, or make some-thing new.

Created product isinteresting, new, orhelpful, making anoriginal contributionthat includes iden-tifying a previouslyunknown problem,issue, or purpose.

Ideas representimportant conceptsfrom different con-texts or disciplines.

Created productdraws on a variety ofsources, includingdifferent texts, media,resource persons, orpersonal experiences.

Ideas are combined inoriginal ways to solvea problem, address anissue, or make some-thing new.

Created product isinteresting, new, orhelpful, making anoriginal contribution forits intended purpose(for example, solving aproblem or addressingan issue).

Ideas representimportant conceptsfrom the same orsimilar contexts ordisciplines.

Created product drawson a limited set ofsources and media.

Ideas are combined inways that are derivedfrom the thinking ofothers (for example, ofthe authors in sourcesconsulted).

Created productserves its intendedpurpose (for example,solving a problem oraddressing an issue).

Ideas do notrepresent importantconcepts.

Created productdraws on only onesource or on sourcesthat are nottrustworthy orappropriate.

Ideas are copied orrestated from thesources consulted.

Created productdoes not serve itsintended purpose(for example,solving a problemor addressingan issue).

Source : From How to Create And Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading (p. 54), by Susan M. Brookhart, 2013, Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Copyright 2013 byASCD. Adapted with permission.



think that any assignmentthat allows student choiceis conducive to creativity.

Although that may be truein general, only assignments

that allow student choice inmatters related to what thestudent is supposed to learn develop student creativityin the area under study. Forexample, if you ask studentsto compare characters intwo novels and allow themto choose the characters ornovels, they have the oppor-tunity to develop creativityin their approach to literary

criticism. However, if youask students to comparetwo specified characters and

just give them choices aboutwhether they want to writean essay, give a speech, orwrite a song, students willnot have that opportunity.

Criteria for CreativityCreativity is not a synonymfor clever, humorous, artis-

tically pleasing, enthusiastic, or per-suasive. Those are all great qualities thatwe can assess in their own right, but weshouldn’t confuse them with creativity.

As early childhood educator Lilian Katzonce railed, “Creativity is not animalswith long eyelashes!”

Rather, criteria for creativity shouldmatch what we expect in creative work:originality and high quality. Creativestudents

■ Recognize the importance of a deepknowledge base and continually workto learn new things.

■ Are open to new ideas and activelyseek them out.

■ Find source material in a widevariety of media, people, and events.

■ Organize and reorganize ideas intodifferent categories or combinations andthen evaluate whether the results areinteresting, new, or helpful.

■ Use trial and error when they are

unsure how to proceed, viewing failureas an opportunity to learn. (Brookhart,2010, pp. 128–129)

The first four characteristics lead toqualities in the work that we can observe,assess, and provide feedback on. Forexample, are the source materials varied?

Are ideas organized in a fresh wayand uniquely suited to the problem orproduct? The last characteristic—usingtrial and error—is about the student’sapproach to learning and may or maynot show itself in the finished work.

A Rubric for CreativityIf all of these rst four characteristicsare in play in an assignment, then arubric like the one in Figure 1 (p. 31)may support teachers and students inassessing creativity (Brookhart, 2013).The rubric describes four levels of cre-ativity—very creative, creative, ordinary/ routine, and imitative—in four different

areas—variety of ideas,variety of sources, noveltyof idea combinations, andnovelty of communication.

I created this rubric with

some trepidation—becausewhere there’s a rubric, therewill be someone who’sthinking of using it to grade.Generating a grade is not the intended purpose of therubric for creativity. Rubricshelp clarify criteria forsuccess and show what thecontinuum of performancelooks like, from low to high,from imitative to very cre-

ative. For that reason, rubricsare useful for sharing withstudents what they’re aimingfor, where they are now, andwhat they should do next. Ido not recommend gradingcreativity.

Another advantage of therubric for creativity is thatit functions as a visual orga-nizer that makes us considercreativity apart from the

other criteria for the work. For example,in the acrostic poem assignment, othercriteria might include the quality of theideas conveyed, word choice and use,and correct application of the acrosticformat. There’s more opportunity forcreativity in some criteria (ideas) thanin others (using the acrostic formatproperly), so creativity is not entirelyseparate from the quality of the work.Still, taking a step back from the workand focusing on its creativity allows forthe kind of feedback missing in thoseopening classroom examples.

Giving Feedback on Creativity As you might expect with such a broadconcept as creativity, there’s no singleformula that will always work. Startby helping students understand whatcreativity is, using rubrics, examples,and discussion about these. Then givefeedback on the level of creativity you

FIGURE 2. Student Polygon Drawings

Student 1

Student 2


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observe in their work. In the exampleof the acrostic poem, the teacher mighthave coached the girl to work with moreoriginality, explaining that her work wasvery much like many other poems and

challenging her to write a poem thatwas less like those of others. The boyneeded to know that his use of uniquepersonality terms—such as aggressive and nutty—was creative and poeticallyskilled. In these cases, a few wordsof feedback to each student wouldprobably have sufced. The importantthing is to say the words—to name,note, encourage, and value the creativityin the work.

Teachers can give more complex

feedback on more complex assignments.For example, in the write-a-melodymusic assignment, some melodies willsound very much like themes that othercomposers have written. Pointing outthose similarities and asking for moredifferences may be useful. (“This partof your melody sounds a lot like thebeginning of ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’

Were you thinking of that? Can you puttogether a series of four notes that workas a melody but that don’t sound like

anything else you’ve ever heard?”) Just as with all feedback, students

need an immediate opportunity touse feedback on creativity. They don’tnecessarily have to redo their work,although that’s one way to give themsuch an opportunity. They could alsobrainstorm fresh ways they might haveapproached the problem, written thepoem, and so on. But they need to dosomething with the feedback immedi-ately. Minds need to stretch to growmore creative.

Putting It All TogetherElaine Shaffer is a 3rd grade teacherat West Hills Primary School in WestHills, Pennsylvania. Her students werelearning to identify polygons and under-stand their characteristics. She gavethem an assignment to draw a pictureusing polygons. The assignment wasconducive to creativity because it asked

students to put together two unlikethings—their knowledge of polygons

and their view of the world in whichthey live. Ms. Shaffer shared threecriteria for the picture with her stu-dents: (1) There should be at least fourdifferent polygons, (2) the polygonsshould be labeled, and (3) the polygonsshould form a picture.

Look at ExpectationsLet’s examine two pieces of studentwork in terms of these teacher expecta-tions (see g. 2). Student 1 includedand labeled four different polygons,and she created a picture, as opposed to

just including four separate shapes. Soher work was of high quality. Student 2included at least three polygons (asquare, a trapezoid, and a rectangle).He created a picture, but he didn’t labelanything. Looking at his work, we cantell he understood that polygons havestraight sides, but it’s unclear whetherhe knows their names. Perhaps he just

forgot to label them. His work was oflesser quality than that of Student 1,

although if he does know the namesof the polygons, his understanding is ofhigh quality. A good next step wouldbe for the teacher to ask him whetherhe knows the names of the polygonshe used and, if so, to ask him to labelthem.

Look at CreativityNow let’s focus on creativity separatelyfrom the other criteria for the work.The rubric for creativity suggests thatwe can look for four things—variety ofideas and contexts; variety of sources(including personal experiences);whether the author has combined ideasto make something new; and whetherhe or she has communicated somethinginteresting or surprising.

Student 1 uses ideas that are standardin children’s drawings: a neighborhoodscene with a house, a path, a tree, andso on. The picture looks similar to many

The important thing is to say theords—to name, note, encourage, and

value the creativity in the ork.



other children’s drawings. The creativityin Student 1’s work is derived from theassignment, which required students tocombine polygons and a picture.

Student 2 uses polygons and creates

a picture, incorporating two new ideas:baking and football. That caused meto smile when I first saw this drawing.I’m not used to seeing football, baking,and polygons together. In terms of cre-ativity, his work was more original thanStudent 1’s picture. In fact, although itmay be pressing too hard, I think I see ayoung man who has a good relationshipwith his mom and who likes to bake—or, at least, likes to eat what his mombakes. The picture draws the viewer in

and invites such speculation, which ispart of its “original contribution” or sur-prise value.

I’m not saying that the boy doesn’tneed to know the names of his polygonsor that his teacher should regard hiswork as evidence of this knowledge.

I’m saying that when teachers appraisecreativity separately, additional oppor-tunities for feedback arise. If theteacher tells Student 2 how engagingand original his picture is, she will

encourage his continued creativity. If heonly hears that he’s missing some labels,he will not know the complete value ofthe work he produced.

Helping Your Students GrowTeachers can assess creativity at everygrade level and in every subject, usingboth basic and complex student work.Think through an example of an

assignment you might give in the gradelevel and subject you teach. How willyour feedback help students grow morecreative? And how will you assess theirprogress? L

References

Brookhart, S. M. (2010). How to assesshigher-order thinking skills in yourclassroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Brookhart, S. M. (2013). How to create anduse rubrics for formative assessment and grading. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Perkins, D. N. (1981). The mind’s best work.Cambridge, MA: Harvard UniversityPress.

Susan M. Brookhart (susanbrookhart@

bresnan.net) is an independent educationconsultant based in Helena, Montana,and a research associate in the Centerfor Advancing the Study of Teaching andLearning at Duquesne University. Herlatest book is How to Create and UseRubrics for Formative Assessment andGrading (ASCD, 2013).

L Onl ineFor more from SusanBrookhart on assessingcreativity, watch the interview atwww.ascd.org/el0213brookhart.


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