Teaching Outside the Rubric: Qualitative Student Insights about Creativity

Value to Marketing Educators As marketing courses often involve projects and those are usually done in groups, the intersection of creativity with social processes is fortunate. Professors can readily create an active learning environment wherein groups encourage creative collaboration through divergent thinking. The incorporation of these group sessions into regular courses, even if done as separate lab sessions, will build team cohesion, increase contagious motivation, and ultimately increase team creativity. Our study indicates that students are cognizant of the concept of creativity but believe that it is not normally rewarded and that they are given minimal time to commit to creative endeavors. Therefore, it is incumbent upon marketing professors to redefine rubrics and reward increased student creativity.