Wednesday 15 March 2017

Deciding AOL'S by identifying specific achievements

Another way to develop some content about one specific idea I had about an area of learning, I reflected back on an arts education outreach project that I implemented in a charter school in 2010 called 'Yes, I Can! Arts Project'.


Following the format from our MAPP handbook I asked myself:

If I did this again how would I do it differently? Why?
How did I know what to do in this situation? Where did that learning
come from?
Why did I do this in a particular way? What would the consequences
be if I did it differently?
What went well, what went wrong and why?
Have I done this activity like this before? Why?




The following blog only demonstrates the exercise as it pertains to this particular title area of learning = Arts Project Development/Outreach and is represented in a style that includes notes and incomplete sentence structure

If I did this project again, how would I do it differently?

I would have begun the planning stages for the project much sooner. (For what reasons)
to gather more finances
to better plan finances and budgeting
to develop a more robust program

to have presented better the material in new and interesting ways for my students(that is syllabus preparation) for example, could we have added field trips, special master classes with master teachers, and/or concerts

for more preparation in gathering specific outcomes/ measurable outcomes ~ I could have been more organised with measuring fitness outcomes and gathering evidence about grades and behaviour beforehand to see and research the effects of the arts education on performance in other core subjects, specifically to gather more funding for following years

How did I know what to do in this situation?

I used templates of other grants and looked back over programs and modelled my behaviour from them. I used my ability to motivate to get action oriented tasks and just went at carrying out steps to the best of my ability to while using my mentors and other more advanced teachers to steer me and guide me along the way.

The learning came from having carried out projects before in longer years in school and for having been able to execute in previous years to the get the encouragement from others. College years and in high school starting up organisations and events.

Why did I do this in a particular way?

I did not anticipate any challenges because I had no prior experience to inform any fear or hesitation. Because I was familiar with the environment, city, location, and people, I understood the need for arts education, dance, and specifically sought to incorporate my goals and objectives for the program with what was a national health crisis ...obesity, specifically in youth.... so I was able to incorporate what my goals were an outcome that would be beneficial for my community....
I then targeted black children in poor communities, because this is where the education was needed, and also it was a context that was an important and passionate place for me.

Because my own life had been positively affected by arts educational programs, I carried out most tasks and the creating of the program with passion and excitement, because it was a subject that was dear to my heart. Also, it was a topic and a project that I could communicate effectively about because of my professional experience and the number of years that I had been involved with dance. I was compelled and motivated to do all the research that I felt was necessary at the time. I skied mentor and other people I felt had treated experience about the necessary steps to initiate the project, and I realised and utilised their feedback to navigate in the appropriate way. I do have the ability to humble myself and seek out teachers to learn what is necessary to accomplish certain tasks. I learned this ability to seek out teachers from experience and adapt my understanding to excel as a child. Growing up in a dysfunctional household where my parents were not present, it was necessary for me to care for my three younger brothers. I did not know how to appropriately provide for them, of course, as I was only seven years old, but I used my ability to learn quickly from situations and others for survival and I cared for them in the best way that I could.

What would be the consequences of doing certain things differently during the initiation of this project?

The positive outcomes of having planned more would have been that I had more time in which to plan, budget, and organise the program. I feel that I would have developed more specific and achievable outcomes associated with fitness and measuring the effects of the program and the correlation to CORE subjects and behaviour in the classroom. Continuing the program through to completion might have ensured that the program would have continued to other schools.

What went well?

Press around the event
I received a Leadership Award from my community for the event
There was great publicity because of my networking and associations at the time
Communication between mentors, people involved with the program and myself

Because of my passion, connections in the community, participation in events and fundraisers, and my going out to share information about the project and networking, news about the program spread rapidly and it was well received.

What went wrong, and why?
Outcomes were not measured, because I did not over see the project through to completion. Teacher commitment could have been better. The students reception of the program would have been better received if I had begun planning in much earlier stages of the program.

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