Measuring the Creativity of Architecture Students

Creativity research is an underdeveloped area of educational psychology, particularly in higher education. For example, few studies have examined the validity of product creativity assessment at this level. Research examining creativity and the combination of cognitive, personality, and motivational aptitudes in higher education is lacking. This study explored the creativity of freshmen students’ final projects in a studio architecture class. The study used a systems theoretical framework supporting the idea that creativity occurs within an interaction of the environment and the individual. The study used correlation and regression to examine the relationship between creativity and individual aptitudes which can be supported by education within the architecture domain. To support the use of pedagogy in creativity intervention, factor analysis revealed the strong validity and reliability of a creativity assessment, namely the Consensual Assessment Technique. The most important individual aptitude for creativity was intrinsic motivation. This research further examined the impact of instructor grading, social dimensions of intrinsic motivation and implications for supporting creativity in higher education