The Idea
Assessment is a key part of teaching. Students and teachers alike want to know how they're doing.
Feedback is one form of assessment. It can come from teachers, of course, but it can also come from peers.
But is student-to-student feedback helpful? If it is, what are more (or less) effective forms for it to take?
The Process
Opera Workshop is a sequence of three quarters, taught by three different instructor. (I taught only Winter 2025.). Students prepare and present, in class, solo arias and two-person scenes from operas.
This work can be assessed in two ways: the objective and the subjective. The objective is rather straightforward: is the text memorized accurately? Pronounced accurately? Are the pitches in tune? Are the rhythms being sung in time? Are students coming to class, on-time, and communicating absences? The objective can be given a letter grade.
But how, exactly, does one assess the subjective? How do we assess if a work of art - the performance of an aria, say - is beautiful, skillful, meaningful? It is largely a question of taste.
And how might students, with less experience in giving feedback, do so in a kind, constructive, and ultimately helpful way?
The Tool
My project aims to create a quick-use, in-class tool that can help students assess the subjective work of performance and provide effective feedback.
The tool is nothing more than a standard 3" x 5" index card, blank on both sides.
Students observe their colleagues' work (solo arias, two-person scenes) and take notes on the index card in real time.
On one side: notes of PRAISE: What's clear? What's beautiful? What's skillful? What's meaningful?
On the other side: notes of PRACTICE: What needs work?
(At this stage, notes, solutions, and "fix-its" are not invited. This may become an element later in the development of my assessment project idea.)
Students sign their index cards, promoting kindness, accountability, and community throughout the process.
Cards are then given to the teacher, who makes a photocopy for their records, and then passes the cards onto the student whose performance was assessed.
The Results
Students did it! We had consistent and continual participation in this exercise throughout the quarter.
Students liked it! They frequently commented how the exercise kept them focused and engaged in class, when they might normally have felt more distanced from simply watching others' solo and scene work.
Students found it helpful! Receiving feedback from multiple points of view helped students make artistic choices in their own work. Giving feedback to others made students think about their own acting and music work.
Students want to get their voices heard, and they want to hear each others’ voices.