Creativity Grounded in Analysis:

The Role of Authors Statements

Coupled with Creative Assignments

Victoria DAquila TE 802 Fall 2015

What I Noticed:
We often conceptualize creative assignments as separate from analytical work.
Creative assignments are given as a reward after more rigorous standards have been
met. And when we assign creative work, we struggle to grade it because it is abstract and
subjective. Students are drawn to creative assignments because they offer a degree of
agency and expression not always found in work that is meant to adhere to a strict rubric.
We, as teachers, want our students to learn and master critical and analytical thinking and
writing skills. Why are these considered opposing forces? How might we reconcile the
divorce of creativity and analysis?

What I Did:
I assigned creative summative assessments that contained an Authors Statement.
This secondary element allowed students to explain their work (what they were going for,
how they viewed its significance, etc.) as well as how this work connected to class content
(the text, literary movement, theme, etc. we were studying).
Example Assignments:
-Dark Romantic Blackout Poem
-Adding on an Original Extra Chapter: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Why I Did it:

I wanted students to have more opportunities for creative work while also mastering
standards of critical thinking and literary analysis. Additionally, I felt that in order to adequately assess their creative work, I needed to know where they were coming from and
what their intentions were. These authors statements gave me a way to hear my students
justifications for their work, and also provided students with an avenue for analysisboth of
class content as well as their own actual work.

How it Worked:
Students composed a broad spectrum of responses that varied in style and degree
of artistic embellishment. These works were accompanied by statements that helped me
fairly assess students based on specific standards of analysis. Students felt I had a better
understanding of their work, and were more comfortable with me grading it because they
had the opportunity to explain it to me through their authors statement.