Creative Assessment

At the Digital Design Studio(DDS) in Tisch library, we support creative assessment that uses media and design and that varies in scope and form. This could range from zine making and audio journals to podcasts and videos. To learn more about the types of support the DDS provides, check out the DDS Support tab on the left.

Creative assessment is a general term that describes evaluation methods beyond traditional research papers and exams. Creative assessment looks to broaden the scope of what assessment can look like and foster creative, reflective and critical evaluation of course learning objectives both through new forms or non-traditional assessment criteria. This can allow for more inclusive assessment methods that "does not compromise academic or professional standards but improves the opportunities for all students to demonstrate their acquisition of the learning outcomes" (Holland; McConlogue).

Holland, Sarah. “Rethinking Assessment: The Potential of “Innovative” or “Creative” Assessments in History.” History Education Research Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, 23 July 2024, https://doi.org/10.14324/herj.21.1.09.

Advice from our collaborators 

My first piece of advice is that it's likely to take a lot longer than you think it will! There are a lot of issues to consider, and many facets to coordinate. Many of the traditional types of assessment methods you've used in the past just won't transfer well to assessing a piece of creative media. That being said, partnering with the DDS in hugely helpful not only with teaching the "technical stuff," but also more broadly in thinking about learning objectives and assessments.

- Julie Dobrow, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development

Start planning early. Give students plenty of time in class to get support learning planning their creative project. I don't think the podcasts in my class would have worked if students had to learn how to make a podcast outside of class time. This reduces "content" time, but leads to much better final projects!

- Noel Heim, Lecturer, Earth and Climate Sciences

Common issues affecting projects

Consulting and partnering with the DDS can help you avoid common pitfalls with these kinds of projects, which generally come down to students not being adequately supported for working with a new medium. This can result in learning the technology becoming the main focus, overtaking course goals like conducting and communicating research and analysis. Some common issues include:

• Not accounting for amount of work and energy that goes into learning and using an unfamiliar medium, or not scoping the technical intensity of the project format to the goals and time-frame of the class and the prior knowledge of the students 
• Assuming students are “digital natives” and so can do a video, audio, or graphic design project easily – but the format is actually unfamiliar to the students
• General, unfocused project format or too many format options presented, which makes providing comprehensive support difficult to do in limited class time and often results in students opting to do a paper
• Only planning voluntary technical workshops which typically aren't aren't well attended, especially outside of the class time – students are often pressed for time and may not realize how much support they need if it is made voluntary
• Underestimating the amount of time a project might take or not building in time for iteration and revision
• Not scaffolding the project or providing milestones which can result in students struggling to navigate the steps of the work or underestimating the time it will take and saving the work until the end of the class
• Unclear methods of evaluation or faculty feeling hesitant to evaluate a creative project
• Deciding to explore options for public sharing and publishing mid-project rather than building it in from the start