Educating For Creativity in Narrative Writing: Constructing a Framework For Assessment and Feedback

为了经济、社会和个人利益，创造力在教育中的重要性一再得到强调。例如，有人认为学校应该培养学生独特的创造性思维和行动能力；然而，目前的国家英语课程在其学习计划中并没有提到“创造性”或“创造力”。语言在本质上具有生成性和创造性：即使是很小的孩子也能形成新的句子和新的含义，而成功的写作需要创造性地融入思想、想象力和读者。然而，尽管创意写作的概念得到了广泛的专业认可，但我们从来没有信心确定什么是“好的”创意写作，因此如何提供有效的形成性反馈。研究表明，创造性写作在被教师重视的同时也被边缘化，这往往源于对如何评估它缺乏信心。相反，教师与创意写作有着矛盾的关系，认为它既高价值又难以评估，而且它通常与教师难以控制的灵感的浪漫概念联系在一起；没有为创造性写作提供建设性评价反馈的传统。然而，关于创造力的理论见解提醒我们，创造力不仅仅是“放手”的问题；相反，创造性的努力还依赖于知识、对材料的控制和对思想的支配。在创造性写作的背景下，除非我们清楚地知道什么是知识，什么是控制，什么是对思想的支配，否则很难想象儿童的写作创造力会向前发展。鉴于此，本研究试图通过建立对不同利益相关者在创意写作中所重视的东西的理解，并确定创新的形成性评估实践如何有助于与作为作家的儿童分享这种理解，来填补研究中的这一空白。研究需要建立对创造力和创造性写作的态度；教师、作家和大学讲师在创意写作中看重的是什么；以及如何改进创造性写作的形成性反馈。本研究旨在从不同角度探讨“好”创意写作的构成，并建立一个框架，以支持教师对创意写作提供有效的形成性反馈。全国创意写作慈善机构Arvon将作为项目合作伙伴。他们很有兴趣支持教师和儿童成为作家，并经营作家之家。他们已经在与埃克塞特大学的写作研究中心合作。最近一项名为“教师作为作家”的共享项目表明，教师在给予和接受写作反馈方面的信心有所下降。这项博士研究的结果将告知他们如何为学校里与老师和学生一起工作的专业作家提供建议。雅芳将促进与专业作家的联系，允许访问作家住宅以观察反馈，并支持学校部门以外的传播和参与。这项研究的意义在于，它有可能改变创造性写作教学和评估中的专业思维和实践，并通过这种方式改变学生的教育成果。

The importance of creativity in education, for economic, social and personal benefit, has been repeatedly emphasised. For example, it has been argued that schools should develop students' unique capacities for creative thought and action; yet the current National Curriculum for English makes no reference to being 'creative' or to 'creativity' in its Programmes of Study. Language is intrinsically generative and creative: even very young children can form new sentences and new meanings, and successful writing demands creative engagement with ideas, imagination and audiences. However, although there is widespread professional approval of the idea of creative writing, we have never been confident in determining what 'good' creative writing is and thus how to provide effective formative feedback. Research has shown that creative writing is simultaneously valued and marginalised by teachers, often stemming from a lack of confidence in how to evaluate it. Instead, teachers have a paradoxical relationship with creative writing, seeing it as both high value and hard to assess, and it is often linked to romantic notions of inspiration over which a teacher has little control; there is no tradition of providing constructive evaluative feedback to creative writing. Yet theoretical insights into creativity remind us that creativity is not simply a matter of 'letting go'; rather, creative endeavour also relies on knowledge, control of materials and command of ideas. In the context of creative writing, unless we are clear what knowledge, what control, and what command of ideas constitute success, it is hard to conceive of children's creativity in writing moving forward. In the light of this, this study seeks to fill this gap in the research by establishing understanding of what is valued in creative writing by different stakeholders and determining how innovative formative assessment practices might help share that understanding with children as writers. The study necessitates establishing attitudes toward creativity and creative writing; what is valued in creative writing by teachers, writers, and university lecturers; and how formative feedback for creative writing can be improved.This study proposes to investigate different perspectives on what constitutes 'good' creative writing and to develop a framework to support teachers in providing effective formative feedback on creative writing. Arvon, a national creative writing charity, will work as a project partner. They have considerable interest in supporting both teachers and children as writers, and run writers' residentials. They are already working with the Centre for Research in Writing at Exeter. A recent shared project, Teachers as Writers, indicated teachers' lesser confidence in giving and receiving feedback on writing. The findings of this PhD research will inform how they develop their advice to professional writers working with teachers and students in school. Arvon will facilitate links to professional writers, allow access to writer residentials to observe feedback, and support dissemination and engagement beyond the school sector. The study's significance rests in its potential to transform professional thinking and practice in teaching and assessing creative writing, and through this to alter students' educational outcomes.