Assessing highly‐creative ability1

Abstract

This paper presents a psychological perspective of the educational dilemma of assessing highly (high-level) creative ability (with some connections to contemporary philosophical debate). Assessment of highly-creative ability is a topic of longstanding debate involving questions of what constitutes creativity; whether the creative mental process is essentially intuitive or essentially rational; whether creative ability could or should be reduced to quantifiable parameters; and whether the most important aspects of creative achievement reside in the initial thinking (invention of ideas) or in the subsequent process of development of the idea (making a work of art, design, etc) or in the end product (the work of art or design itself). The debate is fueled by various philosophical, psychological and educational perspectives, all of which are continuously evolving. As a consequence, learning objectives and assessment criteria are ambiguous and confound the enhancement of creative ability that is the primary purpose of higher education. This paper traces the research and development path that led to an innovative 'authenticative assessment' approach to assessing highly-creative ability that offers a promising solution.

Teaching for Creativity in Universities

“…Although, it should be noted thateven defining the word may seem by some as being inappropriate and vague, when relating to the 'idea' of what is creativity (Cowdray& de Graff, 2005).…”

Assessment in Music Education: from Policy to Practice

“…In suggesting that only the creator can fully comprehend and assess the creative process, these comments echo recommendations by Cowdroy and De Graaff (2005) that using student-derived criteria to support student-based assessment of creative conceptualisation may be a more effective method for assessing creativity.…”

“…As creativity is generally understood to be a process-the end product does not typically figure into an analysis of creative ability-challenges occur in assessing such abstract entities. Cowdroy and De Graaff (2005) state therefore, that "creative ability. .…”

The importance of critical judgment in uncertain disciplines: A comparative case study of undergraduate fine art visual practice

“…The larger project, from which this article emerged, aimed to address the dearth of sustained research on the relationship between the problem of authorship and approaches to interpretation in the assessment of the creative arts in HE, where it is recognised that the student-artists' intentionality is not a focus of any of the dominant studio teaching traditions (Cowdroy and de Graaff, 2005). I considered two art schools influenced by similar traditions of art education: AS1 in the UK and AS2 in a post-colonial context.…”

“…More so now than ever, certain disciplines are beset by an onto-epistemological paradox of questioning that goes to the core of not just what to teach, in terms of the canon in the face of post-colonial or feminist critiques for instance, but to the very nature of their discipline, such as fine art visual practice (Harwood, 2007) which radically engages with philosophical shifts in the nature of art and the postmodern condition (Schiralli, 2002). Its many diverse influences include various adult learning traditions (Boud, 1989) and traditions of creativity (Belluigi, 2010;Cowdroy and de Graaff, 2005;Cowdroy and Williams, 2007). Transformative learning is considered central in art education, with connections between ontological, epistemological and performative dimensions (Danvers, 2003;Martin, 2002).…”