The article describes practical and systematic procedures for assessing and promoting creativity in the classroom. Specifically, the article examines the possibility of operationally defining creativeperformance, assessing both the quantity and quality of creative responding, making the school environment more conducive to creative behavior, identifying instructional practices that promote creative performance, and strengthening creative behavior through appropriate consequences. the article concludes with the prospect of producing gains in creative behavior that generalize across time and tasks.

Although many new ideas are generated, only a few are ever implemented. Thus, it seems reasonable to conclude that idea evaluation represents an important aspect of the creative process. In the present article, we examine the cognitive operations involved in idea evaluation. We argue that idea evaluation is a complex activity involving appraisal of ideas, forecasting of their implications, and subsequent revision and refinement. We note that the outcomes of these activities depend on both the standards applied in idea evaluation and the context surrounding evaluation of a new idea. Implications for the development of idea evaluation skills are discussed.