Sound Design Model Cornerstone Assessment

Title:  Sound Design
Grade Level:  High School Proficient
Authors:  Aileen Zeigler, Theatre Educator, with Andre Rodriguez, teaching artist, Denver Center for the Performing Arts 
Artistic Processes:  Creating, Performing, Responding

Task Description:  This sound design unit serves as an exploration of audio production for theatre, radio, film, television and other creative media practices. Students will work to create a fully realized soundscape for a piece of literature. This unit provides students with an understanding of the process of developing a sound design. 

Evidence of student learning:  Soundscape Sound Design Performance, Sound Cue Sheet  

"Sound Design" demonstrates ways to measure student learning in theatre using the creation of a sound design as a tool for instruction and assessment. This Model Cornerstone Assessment (MCA) is based on a unit which was piloted in the classroom by the authors. Although in an MCA the emphasis is on the evaluation tools, an MCA does offer enough information for any teacher to create a similar unit of their own. Click on "View the full MCA" below to see strategies for embedding in instruction as a guide for re-creating this unit and assessment customized for your classroom. 

MCAs model effective assessment practice and demonstrate that teaching theatre is specific, rigorous, and measurable by sharing a glimpse into one teacher's classroom. The MCAs on this website come packaged with a suggested strategy for assessing student learning, types of evidence to collect, model rubrics, and samples of student work demonstrating their process and learning. The samples of student work illustrate the unit in action by providing a snapshot of a moment in time showing student response to instruction.   

View the full MCA

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