COURSE ASSESSMENT IN A BOX

REPORTING FORM FOR COURSE SLO ASSESSMENT PROJECTS Please submit this document to your Dean when completed. Revised May 2014

Assessment Data is from what semester? Fall 2015 Faculty Name(s): Sandy Chen

1. Course Name and Number: MUS 104 – Music of World Cultures

2. List all Course SLOs from the Course Outline of Record: 1. Differentiate the cultural homes of music based on difference in timbre and instrumentation. 2. Compare musical styles and cultural influences in light of distinctive rhythms. 3. Identify the cultural associations of music examples by their tonal (or atonal) melodic organization.

3. Specific Course SLO(s) assessed as part of this project: 1. Differentiate the cultural homes of music based on difference in timbre and instrumentation.

4. Is this course on GE Plan A? X Yes No (See Catalog pages 49-51 & page 55) If Yes, identify what area. (All GE course assessments count as GE assessments.) Area I Natural Sciences Area II Social and Behavioral Sciences X Area III Fine Arts/Humanities Area IV Language and Rationality Area V Physical Education/Wellness Area VI Intercultural/International Studies Area VII Information Competency

5. How did you assess the SLO(s)? (Attach any related documents at end of form.) 1) Midterm and Final exams. Sample questions are included in Attachment 1. 2) Japanese Music Written Assignment. See Attachment 2.

6. Results and analysis of the data. (Attach any related documents at end of form.) 1) As depicted in Attachment 3 below, the average score for the midterm is 1017 out of 1200 points (85% average). In Attachment 4 we see that the average score for the final is 1141.82 out of 1200 points (95% average). Since questions on instrumentation and timbre across different cultures are plentiful in both exams, we can extrapolate that in general, students were successful with this SLO due to the above average/high average scores.

2) The average score for the Japanese Music written assignment is 89%, which is good overall. In my grading I was looking for specific terminology to describe timbre, pitch manipulation, pitch range, description of the Japanese flute, and Japanese aesthetics. Most students did well on this assignment since they included the terminology and used them correctly. The students who did not do as well were either too generic with their answers or used the terminology incorrectly. See Attachment 5.

The writing assignments can be more challenging than multiple choice exams for some, as students need to demonstrate correct use of terminology, answer all parts of the question, and formulate their answers while demonstrating a reasonable level of grammar and punctuation. Despite the high overall scores of this particular written assignment, some of the poorly written answers showed a lack of understanding of the material, musical terminology, the question of the assignment itself, or suggested that the student simply did not read the online text.

7. What are you going to do based on the results of the data? (Any planned revisions?) Writing assignments are an integral part of college work, but a good number of students do not take them as seriously as they should. To encourage higher quality written assignments, I will further emphasize to the students that thoughtfulness and intentionality are important in their submissions. I will also have more active discussions to define musical terminology with the students using different examples. Terms such as melody, harmony, structure, tempo, timbre are all described in the online text, but some students do not fully understand them due to their misuse of some of those terms.

Please save your finished document in the following format. (Date should be for the semester in which data was collected; same date should be listed at top of this form.) yyyysemester-sloa-courseid.doc Example: 2014spring-sloa-engl101c.doc

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Attachment 1 (Sample midterm and final questions that address SLO 1):

• The base drum that leads the percussion ensemble in Brazilian carnival is usually divided into a three drum chorus to simulate ____ ? (Answer: African Tradition)

• Listen to the following music example used by the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria to worship the God of Thunder. What specific drum is used in this example? (Answer: Bata drums)

• In which Korean tradition do the instruments pictured below produce a shrill cry and its answer? (Answer: Nongak)

• Much of our understanding of indigenous Latin American instruments comes from _____? (Answer: Iconography, written accounts, and music notation by missionaries.

Attachment 2: The Japanese Written Assignment question:

The shakuhachi (Japanese flute) has a varied history as a solo meditation instrument. Listen to the guided listening example of Tori Hachigaeshi and answer the following: • How does its tone, or timbre, differ from the sound of a Western flute? • What qualities of the shakuhachi sound do you think make it desirable and flexible enough to participate in so many different genres? • What qualities of Japanese aesthetics, as outlined in the chapter, do you hear in the piece?

Attachment 3: Midterm Exam:

Attachment 4: Final Exam:

Attachment 5: Japanese Written Assignment: Two examples of student answers:

Well-written:

“The Tori Kadotsuke flute sounds deep, hollow, and raw when it’s played. In addition the notes are extended and sometimes transitioned into high notes. Most of the notes being played sound as if they are ½ notes, with a few ¼ notes and ⅛ notes. In contrast the Western flute sounds immensely tuned and precise. The tone of the western flute sounds higher, and can play notes at different pitches and volume. The qualities of the Shakuhachi sound has been beneficial in many genres because the flute can be divided into three octaves and plays a pentatonic scale. This allows the player to start will small toned notes and transitions to primary notes. You will hear certain pieces of the Shakuhachi that there was an underling of Okua-den. Also there’s the Japanese Aesthetics of ma, meaning emptiness, the space between beats and allows the sound to breathe.”

Not well-written:

“The tone and timbre differ from Shakuhachi from the sound of the western flute, Western flutists lower lip, to produce variations of pitch and timbre, the looseness of the lower lip is important. Is the smooth breathy zen like sounds that allow it to be versatile enough to participate in so many pieces. Natural sounds, meditative sounds, very spiritual.”