Teaching and Assessing Creativity

When I told two of my fellow ESK teachers that I was asked to write a blog entry about teaching and assessing creativity, their reaction included raised eyebrows and slow, deep exhales. Obviously, they know what I know; teaching and assessing creativity is a challenge.

How do we teachers foster and develop creativity in the classroom? It starts with ensuring that our students comprehend the subjects we’re exploring. Building our children’s knowledge base is critical. Without that base, creativity can’t find an effective foothold. It’s directionless. Once that knowledge base is in place, however, the deeper learning and creativity can occur.

As an example, one area where I see creativity flourish in the fifth grade is writing, and writing is a limitless arena in which students demonstrate their imagination and inspiration. I routinely see an explosion of creativity once students gain confidence in their knowledge base of grammar, mechanics and organization. Without the security of “nuts and bolts” knowledge, many students find it difficult to take that next step into higher-level thinking. That’s the good stuff! It’s the creativity and innovation. Shakiness with grammar and rules (and all of the absurdity that’s prepackaged with the English language) can get in the way of creativity. While we’re working through a writer’s workshop, I routinely refer to the students’ “toolboxes” — skills and knowledge they’ve learned that enable them to build something meaningful. They must be familiar and comfortable with the tools before they can create something novel.

OK, so now what? The knowledge base is secure, and the students are confident enough to take a chance on innovation. What then? How does a teacher like myself turn something as high-minded as innovation and creativity into something as cold and sterile as a letter grade? Frankly, that’s where a lot of the raised eyebrows and deep exhales come into play.

Fortunately, we teachers don’t work in a vacuum. We routinely pull ideas from the best practitioners the profession has to offer. Just like Isaac Newton, we “stand on the shoulders of giants.” Grant Wiggins is one of them. He authored Understanding by Design and Schooling by Design, and he consults with school systems all over the country. His list of credentials is longer than my left arm, so when he develops things that we teachers can use in OUR “toolboxes,” we utilize them.

He’s developed a rubric to help teachers assess creativity. You can check out the full version here, but the basic idea is that a professional teacher assesses a student’s creativity on a scale of 1-6, with 6 being the highest level. According to Wiggins, creativity at level 6 “is unusually creative. The ideas/materials/methods used are novel, striking, and highly effective.” Level 5: “The work is highly creative. The ideas/materials/methods used are imaginative and effective. There is attention to detail. A clear and confident voice and style are present.” Level 4: “The work is creative. The ideas/materials/methods used are effective. A voice and style are present.” Level 3: “The work is somewhat creative. The ideas/materials/methods used show signs of imagination and personal style.” Level 2: “The work is not very creative. The approach is trite and the ideas clichéd, leading to a flat and predictable performance. There is little sense of the creator’s touch, voice, or style here.” Level 1: “The work is uncreative. The work is predictable throughout, relying almost exclusively on hackneyed approaches; there is no apparent personal touch.”

Teaching and assessing creativity will always be a challenge. However, with intentioned strategies and forethought, we teachers can help facilitate it with minimal eyebrow raising and deep exhales.

Today, we heard from ESK Fifth Grade Teacher David Spates and his thoughts on how teachers can teach and assess creativity based on the recent blog titled, “Yes, You Can Teach and Asses Creativity!” on Edutopia.com.