Can we measure children's creativity?

Manuela Romo

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

EVALUATION OF CREATIVITY

We can and we should assess creativity.

Examples of Guilford's battery:uses for a brickWhat would happen if suddenly the whole world turned blind?

CLASSICAL MEASURE OF CREATIVITY: THE TESTS OF DIVERGENT THINKING

Limitations of divergent thinking testsLack of construct validity: They are based on trivial tasks that reinforce rare or bizarre answersLack of predictive valueContextual nature of creativity

Alternatives to these tests:evaluate productsevaluate processesevaluate the situation

Assessment of children's creativity

Beyond the divergent thinkingThe model of problem finding and the measure of children's creativity : the " T.C.I. "

Conceptual framework" The formulation of a problem is frequently more essential than its solution, that can be only a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. Ask new questions, new possibilities, see old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks a real advance in science” (Einstein, A. 1938).

Problems finding and creativity: fromWertheimer to Artificial IntelligenceThe model of “problem finding”

(Getzels y Csikszentmihalyi : The creative vision: A longitudinal study of problem finding in art. 1976)

Assessment of children's creativity

Assessment of children's creativity

Significance of a figurative test of discovery of problems to evaluate children's creativity

To evaluate processes that reflect the nature of the creative thinkingTo use as validation criterion judgments of expert judges.

EL TCI

El T.C.I: Test de Creatividad InfantilM. Romo, V. Alfonso, M.J. Sanchez-Ruiz (2008)

VARIABLES OF THE PHASE OF THE MODEL

ORIGINALITY ATYPICAL MANIPULATION

Example of atypical manipulation

VARIABLES OF THE PHASE OF DRAWING

CHANGE OF MATERIAL INTERACTION

Example of interaction Example of not interaction

VARIABLES OF THE PHASE OF DRAWING

VERBAL ELEMENTS

Example of verbal elements

VARIABLES OF THE PHASE OF DRAWING

separation from the model

Example of separation (Model above, draving below)

VARIABLES OF THE PHASE OF DRAWING

separation from the model

Example of not separation (Model above, driving below)

EMPIRICAL STUDY

ParticipantsParticipants in the study were a total of 1488 people, 829 boys and 659 girlsof all courses in Primary Education from different schools in Madrid and Valencia.

VALIDATION OF THE TEST: RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

The statistical analysis regarding the reliability and validity data gave satisfactory results so that the test is internally consistent on different scales.The criterion for validity was the method of judges through consensual assessment technique. The test also meets the standards of validity.

Why measure creativity?

To identify children with skills that are not detected in the classic tests of skills or in the academic qualifications.To identify potential gaps to stimulate creativity appropriately in different contexts