First Advisor

Pugh, Kevin J.

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

12-2022

Abstract

The purpose of the current research was to explore how the repeated presentation of process-oriented feedback from multiple task attempts can help develop students’ growth mindset. A standard model of assessment practices often involves a one-time summative assessment at the end of a learning period. An alternative model involves the use of formative assessments as intermittent process-oriented feedback throughout a learning period. The use of formative assessment feedback may demonstrate growth to students, while this opportunity is not offered by the summative assessment model. Using elements of formative assessment and guided by Dweck’s (2006) conceptualization of growth mindset, this study explored how providing multiple points of feedback on creative task assessments may be associated with an internalized sense of creative growth potential for students. Participants (N = 74) engaged in a creative task in which they either received detailed process-oriented feedback on two creative thinking task attempts, or received summative scoring at the end of a single attempt, and then were measured in terms of creative mindset, perceptions of controllability, and continuing motivation. Overall, results indicate while formative assessment components applied in a 30-minute activity influenced perceptions of controllability in regards to being able to affect future outcomes on similar creative tasks, they did not influence mindset or opting to receive creativity development information. Ultimately the outcomes of the present study suggest perceptions of controllability as local task-specific reflections may be supported through the use of formative assessment components in creative thinking tasks. These components include repeated task opportunities, detailed process-oriented feedback between opportunities to see changes in performance, and framing the feedback explicitly for use on future task attempts. These components did not appear to influence creative mindsets relative to those receiving more basic summative assessment components, nor was creativity development information-seeking behavior influenced. The possibility of pre-existing goal orientation as a lens of feedback perception moderating the effect of this feedback structure was also explored, yielding no significant interactions with assessment formats. This line of research has potential for illuminating methods and structures of classroom assessment practices that could be leveraged for implicitly developing students’ growth mindsets, controllable attributions, and continuing motivation on creative as well as academic skill development. Practical suggestions are discussed in terms of supporting controllable attributions through various formative assessment components. This research also suggests revisiting attribution theory to address students’ local and task-specific perceptions of controllability as potential targets of interventions that may be more malleable than mindsets, as well as potentially lead to developing or mediate development of growth mindset over long-term formative assessment exposure. Further, it may be worth continuing to explore the nature of growth and fixed mindset constructs, both within and outside the creativity literature, for relationships to similar constructs, potential underlying factors, and separation from each other as independent non-mutually exclusive constructs.

Extent

129 pages

Local Identifiers

Kriescher_unco_0161D_11059.pdf

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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