Week 4: AI Lesson Plan Tools

 

EDUC 5313 - Week 4 Blog

Part 1: AI Lesson Plan

The quality of the lesson plan is far more detailed than I expected it to be! I gave a very generic prompt – just focusing on three key words: Archetypal Gesture, Psychological Gesture, and Michael Chekhov (Acting) Technique. With just those words to prompt the AI model, it created a lesson plan that went into an incredible amount of detail the content of the key terms that I prompted and some actionable strategies for teaching these ideas. I was surprised that the strategies it suggested were very rigorous and are ideas that I can easily incorporate into the way that I teach this particular unit of study. I was interested to see how effectively the AI model could suggest appropriate standards to align with my lesson objectives, so I incorporated that into my prompt. To no surprise, the CA Arts standards and ITSE Standards that it produced are perfectly aligned with the learning goals that it created for the lesson plan. By incorporating the ITSE Standards into the learning goals and activities, students will not only develop their acting skills but also enhance their abilities to work effectively in groups, communicate ideas, and make thoughtful decisions in their character development process.

Furthermore, the assessment is perfectly aligned with the objective and lesson content, mostly because it is a classic acting class assessment: Performance. However, the only improvement that I might suggest for this lesson is about the assessment. The need to vary the means of expression with the student assignment is crucial to ensuring that every student in the room can demonstrate their understanding. Of course, ultimately performance is the only Summative assessment in a Performing Arts course that will hits most (if not all) of the Standards, but there are several different formative assessments that could work well with this lesson plan that do not involve the students having to perform. For example, the students could produce a writing sample, where they explain/ justify the connection between the character’s will and the physical gesture used to express their will. The one Formative assessment that the lesson did offer was to use the strategy “Tableau”, which can assess whether or not the students physicalize their character’s emotions in their body gesture.

I believe that this tool is extremely useful for the creation of rigorous lesson plans. The best evidence of this fact is in the “extension activity” section of my lesson plan. This activity challenges students who finish early to create a silent movement piece incorporating multiple Archetypal Gestures to convey a specific theme or emotion. This allows all students in the classroom to show evidence of learning at whatever particular depth of knowledge level they can synthesize. I also prompted MagicSchool to create a rubric for the assessment in described, and I found this to be extremely useful as well! I included the rubric at the end of the lesson plan below.

 

AI Lesson Plan: Exploring Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures in Acting

Objective:

Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of Psychological Gesture and the ten Archetypal Gestures from the Michael Chekhov technique through active participation and application to character development, while effectively communicating and collaborating in pairs and groups, and utilizing critical thinking skills to analyze and make decisions on gesture selection.

Assessment:

Students will perform short improvisational scenes incorporating both Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures, demonstrating a deep understanding of how these techniques impact character development.

Key Points:

·       Definition and purpose of Psychological Gesture

·       Explanation of the ten Archetypal Gestures in the Michael Chekhov technique

·       Application of Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures in character development

·       Connection between Psychological Gesture, Archetypal Gestures, and the current production of "Sister Act the Musical"

Opening:

·       Engage students with a short video clip from a performance using Psychological Gestures and discuss their impact on the characters.

·       Ask students to reflect on a time when body language influenced their perception of someone's emotions.

Introduction to New Material:

·       Define Psychological Gesture and its significance in acting

·       Introduce the ten Archetypal Gestures and explain how they are used to evoke emotions in performances

·       Common misconception: Thinking Psychological Gesture is only for advanced actors

Guided Practice:

·       Demonstrate a scene with exaggerated body language for students to interpret emotions

·       Pair students up to practice mirroring each other's body language to convey different emotions

·       Monitor student performance by observing pairs and providing feedback on their use of Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures

Independent Practice:

·       In groups, students will choose a scene from "Sister Act the Musical" and incorporate Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures into their character portrayals, while effectively communicating and collaborating with their peers.

·       Each group will present their scene to the class for peer feedback and discussion, encouraging critical thinking in gesture selection.

Closing:

·       Have students reflect on how incorporating Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures has enhanced their understanding of their characters in the musical, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and collaboration in the process.

Extension Activity:

Students who finish early can create a silent movement piece incorporating multiple Archetypal Gestures to convey a specific theme or emotion.

Homework:

·       Students will research a famous actor known for their expressive body language and write a short reflection on how they believe Psychological Gesture influenced their performances, integrating digital citizenship skills.

Standards Addressed:

·       California Arts Standards for Theatre:

·       TH:Cr1.1.11a: Use body movement and voice to create a distinct character that conveys meaning

·       TH:Re9.1.11a: Demonstrate and discuss how cultural perspectives affect the interpretation of artistic choices in a drama or theatre work

·       ITSE Standards

·       Communication and Collaboration (2a, 2b)

·       Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (4a)

Teaching Strategies

To help students understand and embody the deeper emotional connections behind gestures in acting, you can consider the following strategies:

 

1.    Emotional Recall: Encourage students to tap into their own personal experiences and emotions to connect with the feelings associated with each gesture. Have them recall a time when they felt the emotion related to a specific gesture and discuss how it manifested in their body.

2.    Character Analysis: Have students analyze the characters in Sister Act and identify moments in the script where specific gestures could enhance the emotional depth of a scene. Discuss how different gestures can convey different emotions and intentions.

3.    Role Play: Engage students in role-playing exercises where they embody a character using Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures. Encourage them to explore how incorporating gestures changes their understanding of the character's motivations and internal world.

4.    Feedback and Reflection: Provide constructive feedback during practice sessions to help students refine their use of gestures. Encourage them to reflect on how using gestures affected their performance and how it deepened their connection to the character.

5.    Observation and Analysis: Show examples of professional actors using Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures in performances. Analyze how these gestures contribute to the audience's understanding of the character's emotions and intentions.

By incorporating these strategies, you can help students not only understand the concept of gestures in acting but also embody the deeper emotional connections that bring characters to life on stage.

 

Assessment Rubric for Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures in Acting

Criteria	4 - Exemplary	3 - Proficient	2 - Developing	1 - Beginning
Understanding of Concepts	Demonstrates a deep understanding of Psychological Gesture and all ten Archetypal Gestures, effectively applying them to character development	Shows a good understanding of Psychological Gesture and most Archetypal Gestures, successfully applying them to character development	Shows some understanding of Psychological Gesture and a few Archetypal Gestures, attempts to apply them to character development	Demonstrates limited understanding of Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures, struggles to apply them effectively
Application of Gestures	Consistently embodies gestures with precision, enhancing character development and emotional depth in performances	Mostly embodies gestures accurately, contributing to character development and emotional depth in performances	Attempts to embody gestures but may lack consistency or depth in character development	Struggles to embody gestures effectively, impacting character development and emotional depth
Performance Skills	Demonstrates strong performance skills, effectively communicating emotions and intentions through gestures and body language	Shows good performance skills, effectively conveying emotions and intentions through gestures and body language	Demonstrates some performance skills, but may struggle to fully convey emotions and intentions through gestures and body language	Displays limited performance skills, making it challenging to convey emotions and intentions effectively
Collaboration and Engagement	Actively engages in group activities, demonstrates collaboration with peers, and provides constructive feedback	Participates in group activities, collaborates with peers, and offers feedback	Engages in some group activities, but may need reminders to collaborate with peers and provide feedback	Shows limited engagement in group activities, struggles to collaborate with peers, and may not offer feedback
Overall Presentation	Presents a polished and compelling performance, effectively incorporating gestures to enhance character development	Presents a solid performance, incorporating gestures to support character development	Presents a performance with some gestures, but may lack consistency or depth in character development	Presents a performance with minimal use of gestures, impacting character development

This rubric provides a comprehensive assessment framework for evaluating students' understanding and application of Psychological Gesture and Archetypal Gestures in acting. Students will be assessed based on their grasp of the concepts, ability to apply gestures effectively, performance skills, collaboration with peers, and overall presentation of their work.

 

Part 2: AI Tool exploration

I chose to try the Professional Email Creator, in an effort to create a message to reach out to teachers on my campus about promoting our upcoming school musical. This tool simply turns whatever prompt presented into a short and concise email message. Here is the output that it created for me:

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Subject: Invitation to Promote "Sister Act" Musical in Your Classes

Dear [Colleague's Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to kindly request your support in promoting our upcoming Spring Musical, "Sister Act," to your students. The show will be running at the Performing Arts Center from April 18th to 29th.

With over 50 students involved in various aspects of the production and four months of dedicated rehearsals, this musical promises to be a remarkable showcase of our students' talents and hard work.

Tickets for the show are now available for purchase at $10 each through the following link: our.show/wrhs-sisteract. Your encouragement in spreading the word and motivating student attendance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for considering this request and for your ongoing support of our students' creative endeavors. Together, we can make this production a memorable experience for all.

 

Warm regards,

Ethan Albala

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Based on these results, I believe that this tool to be fairly useful. It certainly communicated everything that I asked it to and added some professional “fluff” to fill in the gaps of my prompt. Truthfully, writing emails is not an area of my professional life that I feel I need very much help with. However, I think I can use it as a starting point for communicating messages with my colleagues, but ultimately, I know that I will edit the output regardless of how well or poorly I prompted the AI model.

I could certainly use this tool to teach my students how to write a professional email! I teach a unit in all my performing arts classes about the professional world, including how to promote oneself as a professional artist. In that unit, I can teach a lesson with this tool at the forefront. I believe my students, who have very poor email-writing skills, would find this to be an invaluable resource. Of course, I would have my students consider the editing that needs to happen before publishing/ sending the message, just as I will with the message drafted above.

 

Part 3: Reflection

As a High School Theatre educator, I find MagicSchool to be an incredibly valuable resource for both myself and my students. The platform offers a wide range of tools that can enhance the learning experience in theatre education. I would definitely use MagicSchool with my students as it provides unique and interactive ways to engage with the subject matter. Moreover, the platform's tools can help students develop their creativity and skills in a fun and innovative manner. I would also be inclined to share MagicSchool with my colleagues as it can benefit them in creating dynamic lesson plans and activities for their own classes.

While MagicSchool is a fantastic resource, there are a few challenges that may discourage me from using it. One concern could be the learning curve associated with using new tools, especially if they require a significant amount of time to integrate into my existing curriculum. Another concern could be the availability of specific tools tailored to theatre education, as the platform caters to a wide range of subjects.

The benefits of MagicSchool for High School Theatre educators are substantial. The platform offers a plethora of resources that can be customized to suit the needs of theatre education. From creating virtual sets to generating scripts, MagicSchool can streamline the process of lesson planning and make it more engaging for students. The interactive nature of the tools can also foster collaboration and creativity among students, enhancing their overall learning experience. Additionally, MagicSchool provides a platform for educators to share ideas and resources, fostering a sense of community and support within the teaching profession.

I prompted MagicSchool to creates examples of how the tool caters to High School Theatre Students, and this is what it came up with:

1.    Virtual Set Designer Tool: High school theatre students can use this tool to create virtual sets for their productions, allowing them to visualize and plan their stage design digitally.

2.    Script Generator: Students can utilize this tool to generate scripts for scenes or monologues, helping them practice their acting skills and explore different characters.

3.    Costume Design Simulator: This feature enables students to design and visualize costumes for characters in a play, enhancing their understanding of costume design and character development.

4.    Voice Acting Simulator: Students can practice voice modulation and expression using this tool, honing their skills in voice acting for theatre performances.

5.    Theatre History Timeline: A tool that provides a timeline of significant events in theatre history, helping students understand the evolution of theatre and its impact on society.

These are just a few examples of how MagicSchool caters to the specific needs of high school theatre students by offering tools and resources tailored to enhance their learning and creativity in the field of theatre. I find it pretty amazing that the AI model is able to justify its own need in my niche field with specific examples of how I can use it! Before discovering MagicSchool, I only used ChatGPT for specific activities in my classroom, and none of these activities were directly tied to student work. I use ChatGPT mainly for mundane administrative tasks like writing emails, creating school announcements to advertise my shows in the voice of characters from the play (which was SUPER effective!), as well as creating cleaning schedules for the theatre spaces after I provided it with very specific parameters. I think MagicSchool is such a valuable resource for the work I do, and I am excited to incorporate it into my classroom!