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STUDENT LEARNING ASSESSMENT PROGRAM SUMMARY FORM AY 2013-2014 Degree and Program Name: Minor, Theatre Arts (Dept. of Theatre Arts) Submitted By: J. Kevin Doolen, Chair Please use size 10 font or larger. Please complete a separate worksheet for each academic program (major, minor) at each level (undergraduate, graduate) in your department. Worksheets are due to CASA this year by June 13, 2014. Worksheets should be sent electronically to [email protected] and should also be submitted to your college dean. For information about assessment or help with your assessment plans, visit the Assessment webpage at http://www.eiu.edu/~assess/ or contact Karla Sanders in CASA at 581-6056. PART ONE What are the learning objectives? How, where, and when are they assessed? What are the expectations? What are the results? 1. In the area of technical theatre: a. Students will be able to read, draft, and understand basic theatre drawings. b. Students will be able to construct the basic elements used in contemporary stage design. c. Students will develop a working knowledge of the tools used in contemporary theatre d. Students will have an understanding of the basic principles of light. e. Students will have an understanding of how to hang, focus, and maintain lighting instruments commonly used in the theatre f. Students will have an understanding of the 1. In the area of technical theatre, direct assessment measures include: Review of a portfolio of the student’s technical work (scenic, lighting, costuming, sound, stage management) Portfolios are composed by technical theatre concentrators, and are collected and assessed as per the area professors’ rubrics at multiple points in the curriculum, beginning in the student’s freshman year. Collection occurs in courses such as THA 2220: Theatre Seminar I, THA 3257: Graphics II/CAD, THA 3434: Basic Theatrical Design, THA 3357: Scenic Design, THA 3360: Stage Lighting, and THA 3358: Design and 1. In the area of technical theatre, the expectations of the direct assessment measures as outlined in column two are: Portfolios: By the end of their senior year, technical/design concentrators are expected to have composed a portfolio of their technical and design work that is concise, clear, and descriptive, as appropriate to the professional standards of the field. Following our NAST visit, we will be implementing a new format during 2013-2014 that is explained below. HOT (practicum) evaluations: All THA minors are expected to meet or surpass the rubric 1. In the area of technical theatre, the results of the direct assessment measures as outlined in column two are: Portfolios: Minors are encouraged to submit a portfolio similar to that of majors in a tech/design emphasis HOT (practicum) evaluations: In order to successfully complete the curriculum, it is required to meet or exceed rubric expectations. If a student fails to meet said expectations in a given HOT course, s/he must repeat that course. Advanced Design: Students in Advanced Committee/ person responsible? How are results shared? 1. In the area of technical theatre, Prof. David Wolski and Prof. Nicholas Shaw are primarily responsible for assessing technical work in the areas of scenic, lighting, sound design, and stage management. Prof. Karen Eisenhour is primarily responsible for assessing technical work in the costuming area. Results are communicated to Prof. J. Kevin Doolen, Chair, and are disseminated to the faculty as appropriate to the needs of the program. Selection of students for Advanced Design assignments are made by the relevant design faculty, as is student control of light in the theatre. g. Students will have an understanding of the collaborative relationship between designers and directors h. Students will have a basic understanding of how garments are constructed. i. Students will have an understanding of fashion as it relates to theatrical performance. j. Students will be able to do the necessary the necessary research for the preparation and execution of a concept for a scenic or costume design. They will be able to effectively communicate – both orally and in writing – the results of that research and the development of said concept. History of Costume. In addition, courses in the Theatre Production Topics series and in Advanced Design implement this type of review. Review of a student’s work in the “Hands-On Theatre” (practicum) courses, THA 2001: HOT Costuming I, THA 2002: HOT Scenic/Lighting I, THA 30011/30012/30013/30014: HOT Advanced Costuming I-IV, and THA 30021/30022/30023/30024: HOT Advanced Scenic Lighting I-IV. Work in these courses involves serving as a crewmember on a show and/or working a defined number of shop hours. In the Advanced courses, students are expected to take on more responsibility (i.e., serving as crew head, working independently on a construction project, etc.) The work is typically assessed orally as per the rubrics determined by the design area professors. Students may take these courses at any point during their curriculum, but must successfully complete the lower level courses before they can advance to the upper level. At minimum, a THA minor, regardless of concentration, must take the lower division HOT expectations for the technical work in the areas of scenic/lighting and costuming. Advanced Design: Students interested in the Tech/Design field and who have met the course requirements may be selected to design one of the Departmental productions. They are expected to complete and submit working drawings, renderings, etc. and oversee the realization of the design work. Appropriate documentation of the work is also included in the student’s final portfolio. ACTF Participation: Students who participate in either the realized production competition or the project competition are expected to develop a poster presentation of their work which includes: 1. A written discussion of the concept of the play 2. Evidence of research 3. Preliminary sketches 4. Finalized design Students are expected to give an oral presentation and defense of their work to a panel of judges at the Regional ACTF Festival. In addition, all students who participate in ACTF are asked to submit reflective journal of their Design must meet or exceed all expectations, or they will be removed from the project. ACTF Participation: This is currently a non-graded project, but for the past three years, participation has been supported through departmental funding, as well as a grant from the Honors College. Students selected to present, but do not do so due to lack of preparation and/or commitment, and/or students who fail to submit the reflective journal are not eligible for funding for future events. participation in the design competitions at ACTF. ACTF participants are also evaluated by outside adjudicators. courses in Scenic/Lighting and in Costuming. Narrative evaluations are archived by the design area professors (David Wolski, Karen Eisenhour, and Nick Shaw). The Assessment Committee plans to analyze trends yearly. Advanced Design. Students who have completed the basic technical courses, plus a minimum of one design course, may apply to design set, lights, costumes, and/or sound for one of the Theatre Arts productions. Students submit a resume and portfolio, and are selected by the design area faculty. Students in this stage of the design curriculum are expected to work with the director and other designers in production meetings to develop a concept based on a thorough analysis of the play, prepare and present a research based on that concept for production, prepare working drawings/renderings as needed per design area, and successfully complete the execution of the design. Evaluation of the student’s work is done throughout the process both as oral critique and written narrative, and is archived by the design area professors. experiences at the festival, with particular attention paid to the design response. These are archived in the Theatre Arts office. 2..In the area of performance/directing: a. Students will understand ACTF Participation. In the technical area, students are encouraged to participate in the American College Theater Festival on two levels: in the realized design category, and in the project category. Whenever possible, productions with student designers are entered in the American College Theater Festival. An outside adjudicator does an oral and written response to the production work after attending a performance of the play. The student designer is then invited to present the work at the Regional Festival held in January. Students put together a poster presentation of the design work, and are given a time to explain and defend their choices to a panel of judges. The student receives both oral critiques and written responses to their work. In the project category, students in a design course who are deemed sufficiently skilled are encouraged to enter their work in the ACTF Regional festival. Again, the students prepare a poster presentation of design work based off of one of six approved plays, give an oral defense of the work to a panel of judges and receive oral and written feedback to the work. Written responses from ACTF respondents are archived in the Theatre Arts office. 2.In the area of performance/directing, direct assessment measures include: 2.In the area of performance/directing, the expectations of the direct 2.In the area of performance/directing, the results of the direct 2.In the area of performance/directing, there is a division basic acting technique. Students will understand the importance of movement in performance. c. Students will understand period style and movement as it relates to performance. d. Students will have a knowledge of the history of acting and the development of contemporary acting techniques. e. Students will understand the workings of the human voice. f. Students will understand the role of director in the contemporary theatre. g. Students will be able to analyze play scripts for production. h. Students will develop the ability to communicate with other artists in the field. Students will be able to do the necessary research for the preparation and execution of a role or for the direction of a script. They will be able to effectively communicate – both orally and in writing – the results of that research and the progress of the role’s development. b. Performance Journals: Students are introduced to the performance journal in the Basic Acting Class, and are encouraged to keep journals as they progress through the Advanced Acting courses, and for each production in which they are cast. Evaluation of auditions: All performance concentrators are required to audition for the production season, and all other concentrators are strongly encouraged to audition. Auditions are required in THA 2220: Theatre Seminar I, THA 2244: Basic Acting, and THA 3348: Auditioning (which is taught on a rotating basis). Review of work in the “Hands-On Theatre (practicum) course: THA 2000 (HOT Performance I) is required of all THA minors, regardless of concentration. THA 30001/30002/ 30003/30004 (HOT Advanced Performance I-IV) can be used to fulfill the Advanced practicum requirement, and are generally taken by all performance concentrators. Students my take these at any point in the curriculum. Work in these courses involves development and completion of a role(s) in assessment measures as outlined in column two are: Performance Journals: Students’ performance journals are expected to document fundamental acting principles in early course/production work, with the focus on such items as memorization, character development, blocking issues, etc. and progress as the students take on more complex and detailed roles. Evaluation of auditions: The expectation is that a comparison of auditions from first semester freshman year to second semester junior year will show a maturation in the choice of material, the understanding of audience, and the use of voice and movement in the audition. HOT (practicum) evaluations: All THA minors are expected to meet or surpass the rubric expectations for performance work. ACTF Participation: Students are expected to develop two contrasting scenes plus a monologue, following the regulations outlined by KC/ACTF for the Irene Ryan competition. Students are expected to work with a faculty mentor, who provides feedback and coaching throughout the process. Students are expected to assessment measures as outlined in column two are: Performance Journals: The performance journal is in the early stages of implementation. Students are introduced to this in the Beginning Acting class, but recent changes in faculty have made the practice inconsistent. The plan is to re-emphasize the importance of the journal in the next AY. Evaluation of auditions: Following our NAST visit and response, the new format, outlined below, was implemented 20132014. HOT (practicum) evaluations: In order to successfully complete the curriculum, it is required to meet or exceed rubric expectations. If a student fails to meet said expectations in a given HOT course, s/he must repeat that course. ACTF Participation: This is currently a nongraded project, but for the past several years, participation has been supported through departmental funding, as well as a grant from according to assessment measure: Performance Journals: The performance journal is initially assessed by the faculty member teaching Basic Acting, and may be evaluated by production directors throughout the student’s tenure. Evaluation of auditions: In AY 2013-14, auditions were assessed by Prof. Jenni Passig in THA 2244 and by J. Kevin Doolen (Auditions) and Jean Wolski (Shakespeare) in the Advanced Acting Classes. Auditions are assessed through casting by directors of productions. HOT (practicum) evaluations: Evaluations are submitted by the faculty director of the relevant show. Results are communicated to the Chair. ACTF Participation: Students are evaluated by outside adjudicators, as well as their faculty mentors. the Departmental Production Program. As with the Technical practicums, students must successfully complete each course before they are allowed to move on to the next level. Written and/or oral assessments of performance are given throughout the rehearsal process by the director of each production. When requested, a post mortem review is also given. ACTF Participation: Approximately 50% of the production season is entered in the American College Theater Festival. For each entered production, an outside respondent attends a performance and conducts a talkback with the students involved. Student actors are encouraged to ask for feedback both during and immediately following the talkback. A written response is also submitted and is archived in the Theatre Arts office. In addition to the onsite response, 1-2 actors are chosen to participate in the Regional Festival’s Irene Ryan Acting competition. These students work with partners, and present scenes and monologues at the yearly conference. Students are evaluated by a panel of judges, with approximately 10% of all competitors moving on to the semi-final round. Each round is attend the feedback sessions following each round of the competition, and, if not selected, to attend the performance of the Finalists at the festival. In addition, all students who participate in ACTF are asked to submit reflective journal of their experiences at the festival, with particular attention paid to the acting responses, performances, and workshops. These journals are archived in the Theatre Arts office. the Honors College and/or College of Arts and Humanities. Students selected to present, but do not do so due to lack of preparation and/or commitment, and/or students who fail to submit the reflective journal are not eligible for funding for future events. This year the department was unable to attend due to a snow storm making travel unsafe. 3. In the area of history and literature: a. Students will have an understanding of the major periods of drama and their relationship to the contemporary theatre. b. Students will have an understanding of the principal writers and critics of a given period and contemporary view of their works. c. Students will be able to read, understand, and analyze play scripts. d. Students will have an awareness of the significant plays, criticism, and theories of the major periods in theatre history. e. Students will be able to conduct research in theatre history and literature appropriate to the undergraduate level and communicate the judged by a different set of judges, and an oral response is provided following each round of the competition. In AY 20112012, we had eligible show entered in the competition, and had eight actors compete. Since directing is also part of our performance area, we routinely enter any student-directed production in ACTF. The student directors receive both oral and written feedback from the outside respondent. 3. In the area of history and literature, direct assessment measures include: Research Papers: Under the current curriculum, all THA minors are required to complete THA 3751G: Theatre History I, THA 3752G: Theatre History II, and THA 3756: 20th Century Theatre History. This range of courses provides the students with a comprehensive study of theatrical history and literature from antiquity through the close of the 20th century. In each course, students generate research papers of varying lengths that are assessed via a rubric adapted from the Electronic Writing Portfolio’s rubric. The rubric scores, along with growth summaries per student over the course of their completion of the sequence are stored 3. In the area of history and literature, the expectations of the direct assessment measures as outlined in column two are: Research Papers: Upon completion of each course in the sequence, each THA minor is expected to achieve “Minimally competent” level for each research paper exercise. This translates to “C” grading level, or a total of 70 out of 100 on the rubric scoring. Symposium: Of all students writing papers for the THA History Sequence, it is expected that between 1020% will be qualified to submit to the Symposium. Of papers submitted for consideration, the acceptance rate is expected to be high at present (over 85%) due to the initial vetting through the curriculum. Discussion Evaluation: Upon completion of each course of the 3. In the area of history and literature, the results of the direct assessment measures as outlined in column two are: Research Papers: For AY 2012-2013, of the students that completed the assignment, 93% achieved “minimally competent” level. This included, for the first time, students enrolled in required and elective history courses, so it cannot be compared to previous years. No scores were provided to the Chair for AY 20132014. Symposium: The 1020% figure cited in column three has held for the first six years of the Symposium’s existence. The acceptance rate has likewise matched 3. In the area of history and literature, there is a division according to assessment measure: Research Papers: Assessment is done by faculty teaching in the History sequence. Prof. Christopher J. Mitchell is the primary instructor in these areas. Summary results are communicated to the Chair, Prof. J. Kevin Doolen, as appropriate. Symposium: The Symposium is organized by Prof. Christopher J. Mitchell and Prof. Christopher Wixson (English), and the faculty panel has typically consisted of two THA and two results effectively orally and in writing. Students will be able to draw correlation between the developments and trends in theatre throughout various historical periods and the world view which influenced such developments and trends, and apply those ideas to the contemporary theatre world. electronically by the instructor(s) of the courses and are available for inspection by the Assessment/Curriculum committee upon request. In addition, students may also elect to take additional topic-specific courses in Theatre History (THA 3753G: American Theatre & Drama, THA 3754G: American Drama on Film, THA 3755: AfricanAmerican Theatre) where similar requirements are made. Theatre Undergraduate Research Symposium: An extension of the previous bullet point, all students who write a paper in the disciplines of theatre history or literature are welcome to submit papers for consideration for this annual exercise, which allows students to present their papers in conference format and receive feedback from audience members, as well as from a faculty panel of judges. Students who achieve the highest level of competency on the research papers are particularly invited to submit for consideration. Faculty both vet the papers to determine invitees to the Symposium and to decide upon the “Best Paper” of the sequence, it is expected that all students will achieve “minimally competent” level of discussion participation. (This translates to “C” level or a total score of 70 out of 100 on the rubric scoring.) expectations. For the past several years, the submissions had been rather low, and only from students enrolled in English courses rather than the Theatre History sequence. This year one submission was from a Theatre student in the Theatre History course. Students from the Theatre History sequence, however, are required to attend the Symposium. We will continue to strive to encourage students in THA to submit, so that we can continue to gather data. Discussion Evaluation: For AY 2013-14, 100% of students in the sequence achieved “minimally competent” level. This is the second year data from both required and elective courses are included. ENG faculty. Since the Symposium is a public event, a general audience hears the results and responds to the presentations. Discussion Evaluation: Assessment is conducted by faculty teaching the individual courses. Summary results are communicated to the Chair as appropriate. Symposium, both according to the rubric used in the THA History Sequence. The papers, as well as the judges’ scoring and the scoring trends over the five years of the Symposium, are archived electronically by Prof. Christopher J. Mitchell and are available for inspection by the Assessment/ Curriculum committee upon request. Evaluation of Discussion/ Participation in THA history sequence: Students in the sequence communicate their engagement with the course material in group discussion, indicating their level of commitment of and comprehension of the historical documents and plays assigned. Students are evaluated at the end of the semester according to a rubric, which assesses objectives “a” through “d,” which translates directly into the participation portion of the grade. The rubric scores, along with growth summaries per student over the course of their completion of the sequence and overall rubric trends per academic year, are stored electronically by the instructors of the courses, and are available for inspection by the Assessment/Curriculum committee upon request. (Continue objectives as needed. Cells will expand to accommodate your text.) PART TWO Describe your program’s assessment accomplishments since your last report was submitted. Discuss ways in which you have responded to the CASA Director’s comments on last year’s report or simply describe what assessment work was initiated, continued, or completed. Since the Theatre Arts Chair began this year as a result of a national search, there were no activities replacing current assessment functions, approaches, or designated learning outcomes needing assessment. This coming academic year, the department will be conducting significant curriculum revision, following a faculty retreat where Mission Statement/Core Values/Vision Statement for the department will be considered and likely revised. In addition, we will reconsider learning outcomes for our degrees, (including the minor) allowing the Curriculum Committee more formal structure of how to conduct its business of curriculum review. Therefore, over the next two years, considerable changes are expected to occur in curriculum and in subsequent assessment activities. Please see below the new assessment initiatives (assessment tools) implemented this year. PART THREE Summarize changes and improvements in curriculum, instruction, and learning that have resulted from the implementation of your assessment program. How have you used the data? What have you learned? In light of what you have learned through your assessment efforts this year and in past years, what are your plans for the future? As referenced in Part Two, there will be considerable changes in assessment over the next few years as the department reconsiders mission, curriculum and strategic planning activities. Since the Chair will work closely with the new Assessment Coordinator in designing and implementing these plans, initial discussions have just begun. The Assessment Coordinator (Jean Wolski) will be receiving CU assignment in support of this important endeavor and will be working closely with the Chair (Doolen.) It has not been determined if this Assessment Committee (Doolen, J. Wolski) will be expanded or if this will indeed be the total committee membership. This activity goes hand-in-hand with Curriculum Committee efforts so once that leadership is confirmed, it will be determined the impact on appropriate membership of the Assessment Committee. Given my history of assessment at various research universities, I plan on bringing some of those approaches to the committee for consideration. For example, I believe we need to reduce the learning outcomes objectives to a few more general, measurable goals for the core and for the individual tracks. The Chair convened the Curriculum Committee this year and the framework for a revised minor was considered and approved by the Department. New assessment for a newly designed, flexible Theatre Minor will require different assessment approaches and learning outcomes. Further, since production is the lab for our curriculum, I have already initiated utilizing outside expert testimony evaluating the work as evidenced by the productions in line with our mission and outcomes. This year, Macbeth was assessed. Next year, Carnival will be assessed. Dr. Judith Pender, Professor and Director of Performance at University of Oklahoma, wrote a thorough critical response to the production. In addition to our new assessment tool of expert outside testimony relative to theatre productions, this year I focused on the area of performance in the BA degree. As such, I devised a tool for outside expert testimony to focus on our acting majors. Dr. Pender and Professor Will Kilroy, Chair at University of Southern Maine, worked with our students via providing master classes. Kilroy served as an assessor for the Directing class final and the Auditions class jury. Each completed the assessment tool for performance. I created an extensive senior survey questionnaire with both quantitative and qualitative elements. This was distributed to all recent graduates (past two years) and I am in the process of collecting these completed surveys. This included our Theatre Minors. The quantitative data will be averaged; qualitative will be confidentially composed in a report for the faculty to consider with the Chair at the upcoming Faculty Retreat. All these new assessment activities (senior surveys, production assessment, and performance area assessment) were initiated this year following faculty endorsement. They will be used and shared at the Faculty Retreat this coming August, and referenced in mission and curriculum review efforts. There will be new faculty joining us in the Fall and their integration is an important dimension of assessment and curriculum revision.