Reflections on Three Years of ArtsBridge Programming

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Reflections on Three Years of ArtsBridge
Programming

• Morgan Appel
• Research Specialist
• Claire Trevor School of the Arts
• University of California, Irvine
• 101 HTC, Room 201A
• University of California
• Irvine, California 92697-2775

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Overview

• Beginnings 2001
• Evaluation Model
• What we are Learning From the Evaluation
• Project Planning and Assessment 2004
• Models and Signature Projects
• Dissemination2004
• For the Future
• Discussion

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Project Planning 2001

• Connections to curriculum, content standards
  (local, state, and national) and larger
  educational objectives (including community
  involvement) not fully articulated
• Primarily focused on allocation of time to task
  versus intrinsic and cross-curricular outcomes
• Processes not completely connected to measurable
  outcomes and inconsistently evaluated
• Not available online (adding extra steps and
  paper to the process). Materials cumbersome

4
Assessment 2001

• Use of pre-post assessments based on
  arts-specific and some more general vocabulary
• Inconsistent implementation and collection
• Scoring inconsistent and varied
• Relationship between assessments and other
  evaluative tools (including interviews,
  ethnographies, criterion- and norm-referenced
  tests) unclear

5
Assessment 2001

• Impact(s) of projects on scholars, teachers, and
  pupils unclear, especially themes across projects
• Purpose of assessments unclear to
  participantslittle known about connections
  between orientation and practice
• Complexities associated with aligning assessments
  to standardized tests and other outcomes (often
  requested by funders and policymakers)

6
Dissemination 2001

• Need for targeted dissemination strategy for
  diverse interests (policymakers, academic
  audiences, practitioners, funders)
• Need for more diverse media (Quicktime videos,
  CDs, etc.) to suit needs of various
  constituencies
• Need for presence in scholarly/practitioner
  literature and leave behinds that connected
  summary impacts to public concerns (for funders
  and school community audiences)

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Evaluation Model

• Based on models used successfully by Burton,
  Horowitz, and Abeles, among others
• Formative/Summative, multiple measures/
  observersaccounting for complexity in connecting
  to existing standardized assessments
• Make sense of existing data (review of
  pre-/post-tests and other instruments)
• Surveys (multiple response, Likert scale and
  open-ended), administered two times per year to
  teachers, scholars, and project directors to
  illuminate needs, best practices, and lessons
  learned
• Focus group and individual interviews (especially
  with scholars) to lend deeper insight into issues
  surfaced in surveys (also to contribute to
  iterative survey development)

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Evaluation Model

• Thematic review of project plans and other forms
  of project documentation to facilitate formative
  change and analyses of summative impact data
• Classroom ethnographies and observations of
  projects in action (examination of pedagogy,
  practice, interaction and reality check on
  self-reported data
• Analyses of pre- and post-tests analyses of
  pupils artwork, writings, and criterion-based
  assessments (where available)

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Findings From Research with Pupils

• Evidence of increased risk-taking behaviors,
  especially among English-Language
  Learners/Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
  pupils
• Evidence of cross-curricular improvement
  (especially language arts, mathematics, and the
  social sciences) especially when links between
  arts and other fields were explicit
• Evidence of greater levels of engagement in
  schoolwork/class participation and attendance

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Findings From Research with Pupils

• Evidence of increased self-confidence (especially
  among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
  pupils) and interest in and mastery of arts
  curriculum
• Evidence of development of sound habits of
  mindapplicable to diverse curricular areas
• Improved work habits (both individually and in
  group settings)
• Evidence of positive changes in creative and
  critical thinking skills
• Interest in higher education, especially partner
  campuses

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Findings From Research with Pupils Implications

• Importance of scaffolding and cumulative effect
  of arts-in-education (both intrinsic and cross
  curricular)
• Project implementation strategies and
  pre-/post-assessments must tap into multiple
  intelligences and modalities
• Cross-curricular connections must be made
  explicitteachers should reinforce outside
  ArtsBridge programming time
• Writing should be an integral part of all
  projects (beneficial, but affords unique
  opportunities to integrate into school schedules,
  language arts blocks)

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Findings From Research with Scholars

• Development of a socially imbedded artist (an
  artist with a community focus)
• Redefinition of the role of the artist in the
  larger community, leading to increased interest
  in and pursuit of careers in education and
  community service
• Well-rounded university experience that provides
  practical opportunities to share the arts with
  others and venture beyond the campus island
• Deeper insight into and understanding of their
  own art forms through teaching
• Better understanding of the postsecondary
  curriculum and value of an education in the
  liberal arts

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Findings From Research with Scholars Implications

• Field support is a necessity, as is training that
  introduces scholars to public school
  environments, pedagogy and classroom management
• Benefits to be found in high-quality mentoring
  and synergistic interactionrudimentary
  orientations are insufficient for new scholars
• Role clarity is essentialscholars need to know
  what they are getting into and have a better
  sense of how schools work
• Scholars are not student teachers
• Lesson planning and documentation was cumbersome
  process without guidance

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Findings From Research with Scholars Implications

• Course/seminar support and peer networking
  essential (especially for neophyte
  scholars)scholars also desire mentorship from
  faculty members and senior scholars
• Training in pedagogy, classroom management and
  assessment instrumental to success, suggesting
  models rooted in coursework or courses in other
  departments (for example, Education minor)
• Scholar training should make explicit connections
  to community and artists roles therein
• Scholars field journals should include
  reflection on community practice as well as
  contributions to their own experience as
  postsecondary students

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Findings From Research with Teachers and
Administrators

• Better understanding of intrinsic and
  cross-curricular value of the arts and their role
  in creating a more seamless education continuum
• Changed perceptions about what pupils can do
• Appreciation of real-time, needs-based
  professional support, but difficult to justify in
  current context
• Information flow serves as the catalyst for
  successful programming, capacity building and
  expansion
• Critical factors impacting success
• Role clarity/ clarity of expectations
• Teacher participation (quality and quantity) and
  willingness to dedicate time to programming (25
  hours )
• Integration into/scaffolding upon existing
  curricula
• Previous experience (ArtsBridge and educational
  reform)

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Findings From Research with Teachers and
Administrators Implications

• In todays high-stakes context, even when
  resources are made available free of charge,
  teachers are reluctant to use themneed evidence
  to justify time
• Connections to current curricula will determine
  whether programming will be offered
• Teachers are the best means to build critical
  mass within schools and to disseminate
  programming within and across grade levels
• High quality, user-friendly project planning
  documents are key to success, as are culminating
  events (to integrate parents and school community
  members)

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Project Planning/Assessment Now

• Guided online documentation that is connected to
  standards and provides opportunities for
  connection to standards and across the curriculum
  as well as reflection
• Provides scholars and teachers with benchmarks
  and trackingalso beneficial to research and
  evaluation
• Initial, weekly and final plans, based on the way
  teachers plancoherent and concise. Include
  informal/formative and formal/summative
  assessments for continuous monitoring
• Pre- and post-assessments include prompts that
  tap into multiple intelligences, creative and
  critical thinking abilities rather than
  emphasizing memorization of vocabulary terms
• Pre-/post assessments make use of diverse media,
  including video and music
• Standardized across sites to facilitate data
  collection and analysis, but sufficient room to
  incorporate unique nature of individual sites

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Models and Signature Projects Emerging From
Evaluation

• Traditional ArtsBridge
• Intensive Training and Mentor-Based (Picturing
  Peace)
• Course Supported and Mentor-Based (World Dance)
• Research-Based (Training the Clinical Gaze)
• All grounded in scholarly research

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Dissemination 2004

• A diverse assortment of media couched within a
  focused dissemination strategy
• Scholarly articles that highlight impacts and
  best practices, allowing programming to be on the
  leading edge and research based
• Professional presentations (AERA, NAEA, SAH,
  CECA, on campus)
• Policy/research briefs leave behinds
• Video presentations/general and project-specific
  CDs/Quicktime videos letting participants do the
  talking
• Networking and achieving critical mass within
  schools

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Considerations for the Future

• Emphasis on service-learning in response to
  resource trade-off concerns (credit versus
  scholarships) and needs of scholars/community
• Scale and quality trade-offsis smaller better?
• Forge connections with community and
  philanthropic entities partnerships are key
• Online and distance programming assume important
  roles in future in an era of retrenchment at
  universities and within foundations
• Connect programming with PRT criteriaserve as an
  agent for change in the status quo
• Multidisciplinary connections within curriculum
  and across campus (for example, with Schools of
  Education, Medicine, etc.)
• Continued importance of evaluation and research
  in developing relevant projects, affecting
  policy, securing support, and providing school
  communities with a rationale for programming in
  an environment characterized by high-stakes
  testing

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Contact Information
Morgan P. Appel Research Specialist Claire Trevor
School of the Arts UC Irvine 101 HTC, Room
201A University of California Irvine, California
92697-2775 [phone] appelm_at_uci.edu