Arkansas State University s2

Arkansas State University Department of Theatre

General Education Assessment: Fine Arts Theatre **revision** Submitted by Lisa Bohn, 27 April 2015

Goal Type: Gen Ed: Developing a life-long appreciation of the arts and humanities

Unit Goal: Students should develop an appreciation for the arts and humanities. They should be aware of the role of art and literature in human civilization and contemporary culture.

Outcome: Students will be able to interpret works of fine arts or literature.

Assessment Tool: Post-course assessment questions and survey

Assessment Measure: In the Department of Theatre, we have a Fine Arts: Theatre (FAT) curriculum committee to effectively and consistently monitor the success and efficacy of our contribution to the General Education curriculum. All instructors share a common syllabus, including listing General Education Goals, Student Learning Outcomes, and Course Requirements to assure continuity of content and assessment. We also have a common repository for tests, quizzes, assignments, and activities. Additionally, we meet several times each semester to discuss how our individual sections are going, activities that are working (or not…), and to share best practices.

The committee previously used a 50-question, objective-style (multiple-choice, true/false) test as our primary assessment method for the course. Students enrolled in FAT were given this test on the first day of class, and the same test was given at the end of the semester as the final exam. The comparison of the two scores gave the department immediate, objective, measurable data as to the degree to which the FAT students are gaining knowledge through the course of the semester.

**HOWEVER, upon further reflection and discussion within our departmental FAT curriculum committee, in addition to feedback and guidance from the assessment office and the General Education Committee (GEC), we have taken the past two years to revamp our assessment methods. We started with an honest, in-depth discussion about how we would define “the successful Fine Arts Theatre student.” What would that look like? What do we want our students to be able to do after successful completion of our course? When it comes down to it, what we want our students to be able to do it is go see a play and be able to understand and critique the elements that went into its creation, in addition to having the background to more fully appreciate the show. We came up with some essential content- based questions as well as personal reflection on the importance of the arts and devised our assessment. We then determined which of the student learning outcomes was most effectively measured by our assessment and tweaked as necessary to end up with an assessment measure that most accurately reflects the Gen Ed unit goal of “students will be able to interpret works of fine arts or literature.”

Our current assessment (see attached; and we are very open to guidance and suggestions for continued improvement!) is a combination of a 10-question survey and 10-question content-based assessment. Some thoughts/comments on the current assessment tool:

 The survey questions collect data on the students’ level of participation in theatre as well as Likert scale questions to evaluate students’ perceptions of the importance of the arts, arts education, etc. This information is not only helpful for determining how we can continue to best meet our students’ needs, but also helpful to work with the College of Fine Arts recent focus on emphasizing the intrinsic value of the arts.

 The content-based questions were collectively agreed upon by the departmental FAT curriculum committee to be the core, essential knowledge students would need in order to be able to interpret works of fine arts or literature. The questions cover all the main areas of theatre: playwriting, directing, designing, and acting, as well as some basics of the function of art and basic theatre history. With this knowledge in tow, a student would be able to go see a play and critically examine and interpret the quality of the playscript itself, how the director enhanced the storytelling through his/her concept, how the designers helped facilitate the director’s vision through the visual and technical elements, how the actors were able to bring the characters to life, and how the play fits within the basic canon of theatre history.

 We require that all FAT students read and see both of the A-State Theatre productions in a given semester. One of the main revisions to our assessment tool was making the questions specific to the shows being produced that semester. That way, rather than a general, vague sense of how successfully students interpret works of fine art, they have a concrete example on which they can reflect. The show- specific questions will change slightly each semester depending on what is being produced. We require students to see the shows because we want them to be able to take the information we are learning and discussing in class and apply it to their experience viewing a live performance. In theatre, a play is not considered “complete” until it has been fully realized in production. By having students first read the scripts and then see the shows, it provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on how a play goes from “page to stage,” how their reading experience was different from their viewing experience, how people often interpret works differently, etc. Revising the assessment questions to reflect specific productions is an important step in creating meaningful learning experiences. We are currently in communication with the instructor at the Paragould campus to ensure that his course aligns more completely with the Jonesboro syllabi. We are recommending that he require his classes to see the shows at A-State as well. If he is unable to do that, we will have him alter the show-specific questions to reflect shows in his area that he requires the students to see and/or view in class.

Using the Data: The Fine Arts: Theatre curriculum committee will use the data collected from the post- course assessment as well as teacher and course evaluations to examine how information is being conveyed and assessed through the course of the semester. Based on the data, we will carefully consider and explore changes to the assessment test itself, as well as potential changes to course structure and evaluation methods.

Feedback from the assessment office and the General Education Curriculum Committee in the fall of 2014 indicated there were concerns that they had “not been persuaded that the instrument measures students’ abilities to interpret works of fine art or literature.” We hope that by our revamping of our assessment tool and practices, this issue will be considered resolved. We welcome continued feedback and guidance on how we can continue to more completely meet our students’ needs.

Summary: In conclusion, we feel confident that our continued, consistent desire to improve the quality of our course, teaching, and student engagement will continue to lead us down a path of success in Fine Arts: Theatre as an important and necessary component to the General Education curriculum. We look forward to additional response to our revised report in hopes that it will continue to offer us ways to fine tune our teaching for the best pedagogical results for students.

Respectfully submitted,

Lisa Bohn Assistant Professor of Theatre [email protected] 870.972.3315 Fine Arts Theatre General Education Course Assessment Fall 2015

Student ID#: ______Instructor: ______

Major: ______Year in school: ______

For questions 1-4, please circle Yes or No.

1. Have you seen a play before? Yes No

2. Have you seen a play at A-State? Yes No

3. Have you participated in a play in some capacity (performing, backstage, etc.)? Yes No

4. Are there elements of theatre in your everyday life? Yes No

For the following questions please record your agreement or disagreement with each statement according to the following numbers:

1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree

5. I consider myself an artist. 1 2 3 4 5

6. Art is important in society. 1 2 3 4 5

7. Art is an important part of a college education. 1 2 3 4 5

8. There should be a Fine Arts requirement at A-State. 1 2 3 4 5

9. I would go see a play outside of a class if it weren’t required. 1 2 3 4 5

10. I appreciate theatre as an art form, even if I don’t like a particular production. 1 2 3 4 5 For the following questions, choose or write the BEST answer.

11. Using The Trojan Women as your model, explain how theatre fulfills the benefits and functions of art by matching the following: _____ Art holds a mirror up to life. a. Audiences learned about the history of the Trojan War and its impact via the experience of watching the play. _____ Art educates. b. Audience members had the opportunity to discuss Trojan Women with other audience members, bonding over the circumstances, how the play affected them, etc. _____ Art connects people. c. Trojan Women reflects our society by showing us the damage war does to both the victor and the defeated. _____ Art is subjective. d. Some audience members enjoyed Trojan Women and were very moved by it; some audience members didn’t like it. But it is still a relevant work of art no matter what one’s personal opinion is.

12. What are the TWO parts of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s idea of the “willing suspension of disbelief”?

13. Explain how Scapin displays characteristics of a good play by matching the following to their descriptions: _____ Credibility a. While the story of Scapin takes place over several days, the playwright/adapter effectively condensed time and action. _____ Pertinence b. The world of Scapin is larger-than-life, but within that world, the story is convincing and believable. _____ Intrigue c. Scapin keeps the audience curious and interested in what is going to happen next. _____ Compression d. Although Scapin is based on a play written in 1743, there is still relevance to today’s audience and issues our society faces.

14. How would you best describe the concept of A-State Theatre’s production of The Trojan Women?

15. Using Scapin as your model, demonstrate your understanding of the following directorial functions by matching them to their descriptions: _____ Play selection a. The director had the actors enter through the audience as a way to establish the breaking of the “4th wall.” _____ Casting b. Scapin’s director had to have meetings to discuss what the masks, costumes, set, and lighting would look like. _____ Collaboration with designers c. The director would have needed to find an actor to play Scapin who was very comfortable using his body to make broad physical choices. _____ Staging d. Scapin is a good choice for a show at A-State because it introduces the theatre students to an important pedagogical style. _____ Actor coaching e. The director worked with the actor playing Leander to help him figure out his objectives and tactics in the wooing scene. 16. Place the following stages of the design process in order from first to last, using the numbers 1-4: ____Representations (research, rough sketches, photos torn from magazines, etc.) ____Read the play ____Design meetings (meet with director, talk about concept, etc.) ____Comprehensive design emerges (renderings, detailed drawings and models, etc.)

17. Demonstrate your understanding of the The Trojan Women’s designers’ goals by matching them to their descriptions: _____ Defining the world of the play a. The costume designer used a single color palette for the chorus to help support the fact that Trojan Women is a Greek tragedy. _____ Evoking mood and atmosphere b. The lighting designer used red gels to help the audience understand the violent and turbulent nature of the fight between Hecuba and Helen. _____ Reinforcing style c. The sound designer used current music, the costume designer used modern-day clothing, and the set designer used advanced materials such as corrugated steel so the audience understood that although Trojan Women is an ancient Greek play, the A-State production was a contemporary setting. _____ Supporting movement d. The costume designer made sure that the chorus of women had dresses that allowed them to be able to safely crawl around on the different levels of the set without fabric getting caught on anything.

18. For the following elements of acting, match the terminology to their use as seen in Scapin: _____ Objective a. It’s important to understand that Scapin is the servant of Geronte and Sylvestre is the servant of Octave so that the audience can put their relationship in the proper perspective. _____ Tactic b. To convince Sylvestre that he’s a great actor, Scapin boosts his confidence, strokes his ego, and pays someone to act like a huge fan. _____ Obstacle c. Getting in the way of Scapin’s ability to convince Sylvestre he’s a great actor is Sylvestre’s shyness and stupidity. _____ World of the play d. Scapin wants to convince Sylvestre that he’s a great actor.

19. Looking at the image below, who/what is the focus? What are two ways you know that's the focus?

**INSERT PRODUCTION PHOTO FROM EITHER Write your answer here: TROJAN WOMEN OR SCAPIN** 20. For the following periods of theatre, match the period to its characteristics: _____ Greek a. It was taboo for its time because of the tackling of then- sensitive subject matter such as gender roles, environmental issues, and sexually-transmitted diseases. Henrik Ibsen is known as the “father” of this movement. _____ Roman b. The “birth” of Western theatre; theatre festivals honoring the god Dionysus produced works such as The Trojan Women, by the playwright Euripides. _____ Medieval c. It’s hard to define this period of theatre because we are still in it. But trends include edgy, raw material and much diversity. _____ Renaissance d. Theatre is run exclusively by the church, who use it as a tool to teach the Bible to the largely-illiterate masses. _____ Modern Realism e. Violence was glorified onstage; performance spaces often shared with popular sports of the time, such as gladiatorial combat and naval battle reenactment. _____ Contemporary f. A “rebirth” of the classical era; began in Italy and spread through Europe. Shakespeare emerges as a leading playwright in this era.