A novel perspective on formative assessments: providing opportunities for curiosity, wonder and creativity

Abstract: Curiosity and creativity are consistently posed as core competencies for 21st century. Research in psychology and philosophy of education has documented the benefits of active learning, as well as curiosity, wonder and creativity, on students’ academic achievement and well-being. However, the structure of learning assessments in higher education rarely provides opportunities to experience curiosity and wonder and to develop creativity skills. Further, module assessments seldom include formative components, and even when they do, these are often not designed to promote active, wonder-full or creative learning. We posit that student engagement in assessment can be improved by embracing curiosity, wonder and creativity in learning and teaching. This proposal builds on the literature spanning across psychology and education fields and adopts both teachers’ and learners’ perspectives on incorporating explicit opportunities for students’ curiosity, wonder and creativity specifically in the use of formative assessment techniques. Key challenges and practical recommendations for providing opportunities  for curiosity, wonder and creativity in higher education contexts will be motivated and outlined.