Unit: Theatre & Dance
Program: Theatre (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Fri Oct 08, 2010 - 1:55:46 pm

1) Below are the program student learning outcomes submitted last year. Please add/delete/modify as needed.

1.  Students can recognize and distinguish between various styles and forms of

World Theatre (i.e., Asian, Western, Pacific, Youth Theatre).

2.  Students can create and demonstrate informed and personal artistic choices in

coursework and productions (i.e, design, directing, acting).

3.  Students can effectively communicate creative ideas and critical judgments

through appropriate means (oral, written, practical).

4.  Students can demonstrate ethical and self-disciplined behaviors appropriate to

the field of theatre. 

2) As of last year, your program's SLOs were published as follows. Please update as needed.

Department Website URL: http://www.hawaii.edu/theatre/departmental/assessment/SLOs.pdf
Student Handbook. URL, if available online:
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online:
UHM Catalog. Page Number:
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online:
Other:
Other:

3) Below is the link to your program's curriculum map (if submitted in 2009). If it has changed or if we do not have your program's curriculum map, please upload it as a PDF.

Curriculum Map File(s) from 2009:

4) The percentage of courses in 2009 that had course SLOs explicitly stated on the syllabus, a website, or other publicly available document is indicated below. Please update as needed.

0%
1-50%
51-80%
81-99%
100%

5) State the assessment question(s) and/or goals of the assessment activity. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.

1. How well do the exit materials (final interviews, essays, portfolio) demonstrate that the students have achieved the desired outcomes?

2. What are the students’ perceptions of their own achievement of the four outcomes?

6) State the type(s) of evidence gathered.

  1.  
    1. Exit Interviews
    2. Reflection Papers (with connections to SLOs)
    3. Resumes
    4. Portfolios (with connections to SLOs)
    5. Students’ Exit Surveys (new online format)

7) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected?

Course instructor(s)
Faculty committee
Ad hoc faculty group
Department chairperson
Persons or organization outside the university
Faculty advisor
Advisors (in student support services)
Students (graduate or undergraduate)
Dean/Director
Other:

8) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence?

Used a rubric or scoring guide
Scored exams/tests/quizzes
Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used)
Compiled survey results
Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, open-ended response data
External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., external organization administered and scored the nursing licensing exam)
Other:

9) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated.
If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.

Nine graduating B.A. students completed the exit process, including seven who did online survey.  Eight faculty evaluated materials and completes the rubric.  Entire theatre faculty (13) looked at exit interview notes, and surveys.

10) Summarize the actual results.

Faculty Exit Rubrics: (on a scale from 1-4, 4 being highest)

Learning Outcome #1: 43% at 4, 57% at 3

#2: 43% at 4, 57% at 3

#3: 46% at 4, 56% at 4

#4 57% at 4, 36% at 3, 7% at 2


Student Exit Surveys:
These surveys ask students to rate their abilities in 19 different questions treating five main curricular areas: Acting, History/Theory, Directing, Design, and Stagecraft.  The responses, on a 1-5 scale, are varied and more difficult to summarize, but are used by faculty to make some of the changes detailed in question #11.

11) How did your program use the results? --or-- Explain planned use of results.
Please be specific.

Recent changes?

In response to student interest, THEA 345 (Intro Lighting Design) was added.  New lab time slot options were also added to THEA 240 (Intro Theatre Production) to help alleviate crew shortages.  THEA 448 was modified to require a laptop with Vectorworks installed. THEA 335 was added as a way to condense two semesters of Tai Chi into one class. This was done partly out of budget restraints which would not allow the instructor to teach the full series of classes.


Plans?

A 4-semester world theatre series of courses is at the core of the Theatre B.A. As such, we strive to incorporate student input and maximize the benefits students can reap from the series. In answer to students' request for an "E" designated course, THEA 411, the third course in the series with focuses on a period of time in which colonial expansion was occurring throughout the world, is being re-examined and a new syllabus and approach developed so that an "E" (Ethics) designation may be obtained for the course. (Similarly, a "WI" designation was obtained a couple years ago for THEA 412)


In response to student interest, THEA 343 (Theatre Production) had a title and description change to accommodate different topics in various theatre production areas, including costume, lighting, business and management, not currently addressed.


Plans are ongoing to develop a BFA program with emphases in Performance and Design/Technical Production. This is in response to exit interviews and informal surveys.


Regarding the students’ comments that they would like to be able to view the design process in action, new faculty member Cheri Vasek intends to start having undergraduates serve as assistant costume designers on big productions, attending design meetings, assisting with research, pulling, fitting, shopping, etc. -  so that they have a sense of what the job entails before they take on a design responsibility.

12) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries? This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, program aspects and so on.

Students need more guidance in developing portfolio presentations that reflect the four learning outcomes.  Further instructions are in development.

A planned revision to both the Entrance/Exit checklists is in the planning stages.  The Entrance checklist will also be converted to online format.

13) Other important information:

In order to create a format in which data may be calculated and retained more easily, the Department of Theatre and Dance has chosen to convert several assessment aspects to Survey Monkey Pro.  This is not a free service, and is something that could perhaps be subsidized for financially struggling departments?