Standard 2.3 Authentic Learning
Candidates model and facilitate the use of digital tools and resources to engage students in authentic learning experiences.
(PSC 2.3/ISTE 2c) |
The artifact presented here to represent standard 2.3 is a video overview of a unit from a middle school music technology class. I developed this lesson with the band director from McConnell Middle School in the spring of 2016 as a requirement for ITEC 7445. It is a project-based lesson which has students working collaboratively to compose and record a soundtrack for a video of their own creation or a pre-existing video without a soundtrack. Students were required to divide into various roles and then work to come to a consensus on sound placement choices, music cues and the overall performance.
Standard 2.3 covers the use of digital tools and resources to engage students in authentic learning experiences. This unit was specifically designed to allow students to use knowledge they may have been unaware they possessed as well as deepening their understanding of the emotional impact of music and sound. In addition, the unit gave students ample opportunities demonstrate their skills and aesthetic sensibilities. Student use of technology is, naturally, a central requirement to complete this assignment successfully. However, a technically perfect finished product which was devoid of any emotional or aesthetic substance would still score low on the rubric. The focus here was the creation of an authentic expression showing a more nuanced understanding of the emotional power of sound.
As I have stated elsewhere, as someone who had never taught a course within the fine arts department, this was an entirely new experience for me. I have written many lesson plans over the last two decades leveraging technology. However, I chose this area purposely to take me a little further out of my comfort zone and to return to a true love of mine: music. This would prove to be a very good thing as enthusiasm for the subject matter was essential in implementing this plan. These students had all used this technology before and had a good grasp of the technique required. What was new for them was the collaboration component and the requirement of authenticity. In tweaking this lesson moving forward, we have decided to both invite cross curriculum participation with our drama department as well as extend to visibility of the final projects by having students create promotional websites for their finished products. This will bring their work to a broader audience which should bring greater effort and generate even more enthusiasm.
This lesson proved to be very popular with students. The interest level increased enough at the end of last year to justify adding three new sections of music technology. After completing this project, our music technology teacher told me, that students had increased enthusiasm for the curriculum and were engaging with Garageband at a much deeper level than before. Students also seemed to have an easier time opening up to criticism and being less guarded when expressing themselves. This is key plateau to cross in the fine arts. Moving from the use of digital tools and resources to actually expressing themselves with those tools is a huge leap. In this way authentic learning experiences can lead to increased student learning by encouraging students to integrate personal experience to bring context to their work. We will assess the success objectively when we administer our district SPGs (Student Performance Goal) for band this year. My hunch is that we will see a marked improvement as two of the standards assessed by the band SPG have never been addressed before with these students.
Standard 2.3 covers the use of digital tools and resources to engage students in authentic learning experiences. This unit was specifically designed to allow students to use knowledge they may have been unaware they possessed as well as deepening their understanding of the emotional impact of music and sound. In addition, the unit gave students ample opportunities demonstrate their skills and aesthetic sensibilities. Student use of technology is, naturally, a central requirement to complete this assignment successfully. However, a technically perfect finished product which was devoid of any emotional or aesthetic substance would still score low on the rubric. The focus here was the creation of an authentic expression showing a more nuanced understanding of the emotional power of sound.
As I have stated elsewhere, as someone who had never taught a course within the fine arts department, this was an entirely new experience for me. I have written many lesson plans over the last two decades leveraging technology. However, I chose this area purposely to take me a little further out of my comfort zone and to return to a true love of mine: music. This would prove to be a very good thing as enthusiasm for the subject matter was essential in implementing this plan. These students had all used this technology before and had a good grasp of the technique required. What was new for them was the collaboration component and the requirement of authenticity. In tweaking this lesson moving forward, we have decided to both invite cross curriculum participation with our drama department as well as extend to visibility of the final projects by having students create promotional websites for their finished products. This will bring their work to a broader audience which should bring greater effort and generate even more enthusiasm.
This lesson proved to be very popular with students. The interest level increased enough at the end of last year to justify adding three new sections of music technology. After completing this project, our music technology teacher told me, that students had increased enthusiasm for the curriculum and were engaging with Garageband at a much deeper level than before. Students also seemed to have an easier time opening up to criticism and being less guarded when expressing themselves. This is key plateau to cross in the fine arts. Moving from the use of digital tools and resources to actually expressing themselves with those tools is a huge leap. In this way authentic learning experiences can lead to increased student learning by encouraging students to integrate personal experience to bring context to their work. We will assess the success objectively when we administer our district SPGs (Student Performance Goal) for band this year. My hunch is that we will see a marked improvement as two of the standards assessed by the band SPG have never been addressed before with these students.