You can't grade creativity

What do you see in these clouds?

Summertime is filled with lazy afternoons looking skyward dreaming up names for the creatures seen in the clouds. Countless hours spent laughing and talking build bonds that aren't broken. The funny thing is, there is no right or wrong
answer when it comes to describing what a cloud looks like. In a world that is increasingly polarized with a prescribed list of things students are expected to know and understand creativity like this is not emphasized enough. Creativity is much more valuable than memorized facts because it uses higher order thinking skills that really use our brains full potential.

Ungraded assignments are a great place to start to encourage your students to engage their creativity. Without the risks associated with traditional grades students can experiment with their imagination and connect with content. I've found blogging to be a wonderful outlet for students to be creative. Here is a post that comes to mind when talking about these examples.

I think that as educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that students are allowed and pushed to explore their minds and imagination through creative exercises. This way they will be able to manipulate their thought processes in different ways to solve problems or answer questions in unique ways not thought of before. Isn't that what we should be striving for?