Assessing Creativity in Higher Education: An Action Research Approach to Developing Effective Assessment Methods in Creative Education

The purpose of this study is to explore, through action research, the effectiveness of non-traditional assessment techniques, developed to capture student creative abilities and academic performance. Portfolio critiques, peer assessment, and design-based activities are approved as viable action research strategies to capture the creative process immolated in student work and to represent student academic performance more holistically. Additionally, this study explores the affect that non-traditional assessment techniques have on student motivation and their ability to solve problems creatively. Non-traditional assessment instruments, which can be used to evaluate students’ creative and problem-solving abilities; acceptable assessment methodology for assessing the effectiveness of innovative educational content; and the effects of emotional content development on communication design were also addressed in this research. The findings may be used by educators, designers, and researchers alike to develop more relevant and efficacious standpoint assessment instruments for creative education.