Mike

ABOUT OUR PROJECT
As part of the Arts Educator 2.0 Project, I have been placed in a collaborative inquiry group, or "CIG," whose goal this year is to choose a topic within the arts, create a hypothesis, research the topic, and create and carry out an organized study that will result in a final product. Our group chose to center on the issue of arts advocacy, specifically, careers in the arts, and wondered that if parents and students were informed about arts related economic possibilities, their attitudes might become more supportive of arts activities in the community and arts programs in the schools. Our assumption is that student motivation is central to effective learning and teaching. If students and parents did see economic value for arts education in the schools, would pupil motivation improve, and would students become more successful in their arts classes?

To test this hypothesis, we will measure changes in student attitude and motivation towards the arts. We will create a unit of study in which we will give the students a pre-test about their opinions and feelings about the arts. We will then present the students with several arts career titles, and have them discover about and create a product pertaining to that career in small groups, which they will present to the class. We will then give students a similar post-test to monitor any changes in their approach to and opinion about the arts.

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 * Introduction **

Hi, my name is Mike Bruno, and for my part in the yellow CIG line of inquiry I conducted a six week long unit of study in career opportunities in the arts. My students examined careers in both music and visual arts during the unit. We began with a short pre-test to determine what the students knew about jobs in the arts. As expected, the majority of students listed rock star, painter, and teacher among the first jobs that came to mind. Over the next few weeks I handed out packets detailing job definitions, tasks, salary potential, education requirements, and availability. Students reviewed the packets and watched several youtube clips from people already working in those fields. Once we had completed our study I partnered each student with another who shared their interest and gave each pair a career task sheet. I told the students that we were going to pretend that they were all working members of a Broadway production of the Lion King. As such, each pair was given a related job such as director, music director, actor, pit musician, and costume designer, just to name a few. Each pair was then given class time to complete their task sheet which contained five questions related to their job like, job description, salary, job tasks, education requirements, and favorite thing about the job. I met with each group several times and gave suggestions, but I tried to give each group as much freedom as possible in their answers. Once completed I instructed the students to write a radio interview based on the questions they had just answered. One student would ask the questions and the other would answer. After some rehearsal time each group came up to the computer and recorded their interview on the software program audacity. I then did some filtering and converted the files to mp3 format to use for this presentation. You can hear some of those interviews now, hope you enjoy.

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 * McKayla and Lindsey**

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 * Patrick and Daniel**

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 * Alexis and Noah**

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**Week of 1/18-1/22**
 * Journal Entries **

I spent this week teaching the first lesson in the unit on careers in the arts. I focused entirely on careers and jobs available in the field of music. I went to the MENC website and printed the page that listed possible careers which I then assembled into packets. I then found several youtube clips that discussed music careers from those who held jobs in the music business including one from the president of Berklee School of Music talking about why someone should pursue a career in music. At the beginning of the class I asked my students to list all the jobs they could think of that are music related. Our list usually had between 5 and 8 jobs including teacher, conductor, rock and roll band, and vocalist. I then passed out the packets and went through each listing (some more so than others). Each job was listed in a specific category (music education, healthcare, sound production, etc.) and we discussed which jobs/careers required a degree in music and which ones did not. The students seemed surprised by the vast number of jobs available and were most interested in sound production and technology jobs. Throughout the class I played the youtube clips that aligned with the jobs we were discussing and I concluded with the clip from Roger H. Brown, president of Berklee. Overall, most of my students showed an interest in the lesson. They actively participated in the lesson and asked lots of questions. Next week the lesson will focus on careers in visual arts.

I spent the second week of the unit talking about careers in the field of visual arts. I presented a packet to each student containing job titles, job descriptions, skills, knowledge, and wages. I also showed several youtube clips about graphic design and photography. The students were very interested in this lesson, for the most part. I think the clips I showed them had something to do with that, but they remained engaged for the duration of the period. We talked briefly about each job of which there were nine, including artist, sculptor, industrial designer, and graphic designer. Overall, this lesson went much like the first. Students were surprised by the number of jobs available in the field of visual arts. Next week I will assign careers for the students to research.
 * Week of 1/25-1/29**

Things have been really crazy with the weather lately. Two weeks out of class has put a bit of a strain on trying to complete this project in a timely fashion. I have had to adjust some of my expectations in order to finish on time This week I paired all of the students in the class and assigned a career of interest to each. I then gave them a career task sheet and a packet with information pertaining to their career. I asked each group to read the packet together and to decide which elements were consistent with a person working for a Broadway production. For example, a group with the job title “Director” would not need to concern themselves with elements of film directing. I then asked that they fill out the sheet as thoroughly as they could. Upon completion I reviewed their work with them. Because most students were able to pick a career that interested them the students seemed to enjoy the research. I did have to guide them a bit but they were able to gather the necessary information.
 * Week of 2/15-2/19**

This week was basically a continuation of last week. Students were given the opportunity to meet with their partners and finish the career task sheet. After they had done so they were instructed to use the sheet to write a radio interview. One student would play the part of the interviewer and one the part of the career holder. I gave a basic format for how questions should be asked and answered but I tried to give students as much freedom as possible. I hope to get these interviews written and recorded on audacity in the next week.
 * Week of 2/22-2/26**

Throughout the week I gave my students time to write and rehearse their radio interviews. As they were doing so I met with each group, listened to what they had written, made suggestions, and snapped some photos. There was a mix of emotion in the classes. Most students really enjoyed the writing process and especially enjoyed rehearsing the interviews. Others were not quite as thrilled with the process. I gave students a mini mic which they thought made for very authentic experience. By the end of class groups had completed their interviews and were ready to make the final recording.
 * Week of 3/1-3/5**

This week we spent the entire class period recording the radio interviews on audacity. Students sat in front of the computer screen with the mic positioned between them. Each student pairing was given two opportunities to record and then they selected the best one. After class had concluded I went back through the recordings and put some effects on the tracks like amplification and noise removal. I then imported them into my itunes as mp3's. I am now in the process of compiling the interviews, pictures, and other data to use in our final group project.
 * Week of 3/8-3/12**

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 * Conclusion **

Throughout the unit of study I witnessed significant evidence to suggest that my students had a genuine interest in music and arts based actvities, and learning about careers in those fields. I did not, however, gather sufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the hypothesis set forth by the Yellow CIG. My findings suggest that student knowledge has increased my means of post test results, but I do not believe that I can accurately gauge increases in student motivation without more time. More time to observe student behavior, and more time to teach the unit. I was only able to meet with students six times (or less), and only once a week, which proved inadequate and unreliable when measuring results. I believe students in this region are deprived of arts based education and the only real answer is more instructional time.

http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Name || Post Date || Time || Activity || GPRA || Location ||
 * Michael || 1/4/10 || 1 hour || Pre-test || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || Week of 1/4-1/8 || 40 min || Administer pre-test || 1,2 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 1/10 || 30 min || Pre-test revision || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || Week of 1/11-1/15 || 3 hrs, 20 min || Administer revised pre-test || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 1/25 || 4 hrs || Classroom teaching 1/18-1/22 || 1,2 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 1/25 || 10 min || Lesson plan writing || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 1/25 || 10 min || Journal entry || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 2/2 || 4 Hours || Classroom teaching 2/1-2/5 || 1,2 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 2/2 || 10 Min || Lesson plan writing || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 2/2 || 10 Min || Journal entry || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 2/2 || 30 Min || Career packet and task sheep preparation || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/2 || 4hr || Classroom teaching 2/15-2/19 || 1,2 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/2/10 || 10 min || Journal entry for 2/15-2/19 || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/2 || 10 min || Lesson Plan writing for 2/15-2/19 || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/2 || 4hr || Classroom teaching for 2/22-2/26 || 1,2 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/2 || 10 min || Journal entry for 2/22-2/26 || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/3 || 10 min || Lesson Plan Writing || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/3 || 4 hrs || Classroom teaching for 3/1-3/5 || 1,2 ||
 * Michael || 3/5 || 5 min || Journal entry for 3/1-3/5 || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/8 || 5 min || Lesson Plan Writing || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/15 || 4 hrs || Classroom teaching for 3/8-3/12 || 1,2 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/15 || 5 min || Journal entry for 3/8-3/12 || 1 || http://mikebruno.wikispaces.com/Yellow+CIG+Documentation ||
 * Michael || 3/24 || 1 hr || Skype meeting || 1,2 || [] ||
 * Michael || 4/30 || 7 hrs || Day 6 IU || 1,2 || http://yr2yellowcigpresentation.wikispaces.com/mike ||  ||
 * Michael || 5/11 || 1 hr, 30 min || Skype Meeting || 1,2 || [] ||  ||
 * Michael || 5/12 || 1 hr || Organizing wiki page || 1,2 || http://yr2yellowcigpresentation.wikispaces.com/mike ||  ||