Many parents are interested in how they could measure how much their kid is creative. And this is not surprising as we want to measure success, we want to understand whether any improvement is needed. This is the reason schools use marks and feedback to inform kids and parents about their progress and some areas needing improvements.
So, how can we measure creativity and what are the main factors to consider?
Probably, you may start with novelty. Innovation brings some change or solution that have never existed before. But what if the proposed solution has no or little value.
Creativity needs also to bring value and be effective. That’s why we need to add these two factors in evaluation of creativity of an individual. If she/he is capable to generate ideas and solutions that are novel, efficient and bring value then may be these are the core factors to consider.
Still, we need to add few more important factors such as aesthetics and wholeness. These factors are the factors defining the next levels of creativity and creativeness. Altogether with novelty, efficiency and value these build a good framework for measuring kids creativity.
While trying to evaluate kids creativity, remember to avoid judgements and giving grades. Creativity works better when you do not criticize but engage with a child through the creative process.
So, now you may look at what your kids is creating and try to measure her/his creativity. It will be very subjective but will give a feeling where she/he may need your support for improvements. These should become your main focus for feedback and work with a child.
To learn these skills you may enrol your child into our weekly online or face-to-face “TRIZ for Kids Creative Thinking and Problem Solving” program.