LIVING ASSESSMENT: The artful assessment of learning in the arts by MATTHEW YANKO B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2006 B.Ed., The University of British Columbia, 2007 M.A., The University of British Columbia, 2015 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Curriculum Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2021 © MattheW Yanko, 2021 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Living assessment: The artful assessment of learning in the arts submitted by Matthew Yanko in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Curriculum Studies) Examining Committee: Peter Gouzouasis, Curriculum and Pedagogy, UBC Supervisor George Belliveau, Language and Literacy Education, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Rita IrWin, Curriculum and Pedagogy, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Rena Sharon, School of Music, UBC University Examiner Laurie Ford, Early Childhood Education, UBC University Examiner ii Abstract Arts learning experiences often embrace a canvas of colourful interpretations and creativity that necessitate assessment practices unique to the arts. However, conventional practices (i.e., rating scales, rubrics, and checklists) struggle, or are unable, to meaningfully assess students’ creativity, imagination, and meaning making (Gouzouasis & Yanko, 2018b; Yanko & Gouzouasis, 2020). Therefore, guided by a frameWork of artography and autoethnography, I developed a novel, formative means of assessment grounded in artistic thinking, doing, and making—living assessment. Living assessment encourages l’art pour l’art, and is rooted in underpinnings of pedagogical documentation, learning stories, and living inquiry. That foundation evokes three guideposts—documentation, artistry, and augmentation— to support teachers as they engage with artistic practices, tools, and frameWorks to creatively illuminate values and judgments of their students’ creativity, imagination, and meaning making in arts learning experiences. Over the course of a school year, I composed over 500 creative non-fictional, autoethnographies of my journey with living assessment. The stories focus on the artful assessments of Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 4/5, and Grade 6 student music learning experiences. Findings from the study illuminate how this practice of assessment respects and values the individual child and enables a democratic means of assessment for the entire learning community. This inquiry also elucidates how living assessment advocates meaning making through the arts, which better corresponds With the learning at hand, and with children’s cognitive capacities—i.e., through play-baseD learning, draWing, painting, music, and drama. In our learning community, many of the students saturated themselves in the aesthetics of art making, and were able to respond to what they made and learned through aesthetic criticisms iii (Yanko & Gouzouasis, 2020). Moreover, living assessment provides opportunities for parents to participate in and better support their child’s learning and meaning making. Artfully inspired, autoethnographic assessment practices also enable an ongoing reflexive process of professional development for the teacher. What is more, I came to understand that living assessment not only supports a practice that is creative, playful, and discursive, but also entices young learners to experience joy, wonder, and passion with the arts through an ongoing participation in the art of living assessment. iv Lay Summary DishearteneD with traditional assessment practices for arts learning experiences, I investigateD the potentials of a neW practice of assessment—living assessment. Over the course of a school year, I investigateD the potentials of living assessment with students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. Living assessment involves the teacher turning to artistic approaches to illuminate the values and judgments of students’ creativity, imagination, and meaning making in artistic endeavours. This practice is scaffoldeD by three guideposts—documentation, artistry, and augmentation—that support the teacher as they creatively document their student’s learning and meaning making, then take the accumulateD documentation to create an artistic assessment. That assessment piece is then shareD and discusseD with the student, their classmates, and parents to further their learning and understandings about learning. Findings illuminate that living assessment is an inclusive, tangible means of assessment for creative arts learning experiences for all students Within a classroom community. v Preface This dissertation is original, unpublished, and independent Work by the author, Matt Yanko. This research was conducteD with the approval of the UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board (January 9, 2019) and was granteD a Minimal Risk status. Project Title: Living assessment: An autoethnography on assessment rooteD in pedagogical documentation, learning stories, and living inquiry Certificate # H18-02451 This research was made possible through the generous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for “Learning assessment in early childhood music education” (2018-2021). vi Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ................................................................................................................................ v Preface ........................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi List of Digital Media .................................................................................................................. xiv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... xvi Chapter 1: A didactic film score .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Opening credits ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The tone of the plot ......................................................................................................... 5 1.3 The protagonists .............................................................................................................. 7 1.4 The deuteragonist .......................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Revealing the setting ..................................................................................................... 13 1.6 And scene! .................................................................................................................... 16 1.7 Research questions ........................................................................................................ 18 1.8 OvervieW of chapters .................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2: Contrapuntal ruminations on an arts based methodological framework .......... 22 2.1 Qualitative methods ...................................................................................................... 22 2.2 Artography: Primary methodological melody .............................................................. 24 2.3 Autoethnography: A second methodological melody ................................................... 32 2.4 Learning story: A complementary melodic motif ......................................................... 37 2.5 Codetta .......................................................................................................................... 40 vii Chapter 3: The foundations of living assessment .................................................................... 44 3.1 A revieW of research in assessment .............................................................................. 44 3.2 Assessment in music education ................................................................................... 45 3.3 Assessment in the visual arts ........................................................................................ 51 3.4 Alternative Ways of assessing learning ......................................................................... 53 3.5 Living assessment ......................................................................................................... 59 3.6 Ruminations .................................................................................................................. 74 Chapter 4: The inception of living assessment ......................................................................... 76 4.1 Prelude .......................................................................................................................... 76 4.2 Giving life to the documentation wall .........................................................................