Creativity Measurement Through Use of Judgment Criteria in Physics

Abstract

The problem of study reported in this paper is the construction and validation of a set of judging criteria for use in evaluating creativity in the physics classroom. An eighteen item judging criterion instrument was developed to assess the relative creativity of paper-and-pencil products produced by thirty-three college general physics students on six assignments. The instrument, called the Judging Criteria Instrument (JCI), was studied for validity by a multiple method of correlating results found from the instrument with results obtained with the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and with judgments of thirty teachers evaluating products indpendently. The JCI and teacher judgment scores were shown to be reliable through using the split-halves technique. All correlations were calculated in terms of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The JCI was shown to be valid. The study also indicated that an average of four peer scores employing the JCI does provide a better measurement of creativity than does self-evaluation from using the same instrument.