Price, Perry, Smith-Moore: African American Composers of Symphonic Music
An Continuing Ed Class for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
This was a 5 week long, Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) to be implemented via Zoom with 5, 90 minute-long sessions. Designed to give learners an overview of a few African American female composers of symphonic music, this course allowed learners to learn the stories and experience the music of composers Florence Price, Undine Smith-Moore, and Julia Perry.
Background Information
Audience
Learners were members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), were aged 60+, and had both entry level and intermediate level subject knowledge.
Additional Deliverables
PowerPoint Slide and Facilitator Guide
Problem
OLLI was in need of a Lecture/Discussion styled class that would be of interest to their members and round out the assortment of Arts classes offered for the semester.
Tools
Canva Zoom, Youtube
Solution
This 5 week, Lecture/Discussion styled VILT introduces learners 3 African American female composers of symphonic music; familiarizes learners with each composer's story of origin and body of work.
The Design Process
This 5 week VILT was created after careful consideration of student personas that I also created as a part of the Analysis phase of the ADDIE design process. During this phase, I interviewed the program director to learn of common learner motivations, attitudes towards music-related topics, tech fluencies, and other related traits and behaviors.
In the Design phase of ADDIE, I established an appropriate course objective for the VILT and set 5 Learning Objectives that addressed Levels 1 and 2 of Bloom's Taxonomy. I crafted a thorough 5 Point Outline for this course that included a student journey. The 5 Learning Objectives were as follows:
1. Learners will discover 3 African American women composers' symphonic compositions, the social context of their creation, and their current relevance.
2. Learners will be led through an analysis of each composer's work and the scholarly writings available about their work.
3. Through discussion and journal reflections, learners will make personal meaning regarding the themes represented in the pieces, the influences on the compositions.
4. Learners will source current African American women composers from recent Pulitzer Prize lists and MacArthur Genius Fellow Award lists.
5. Learners will be able to acquire the works of modern African American Women's symphonic compositions into their personal playlists online.
In the Development phase of ADDIE, I created presentation slides using Canva, mapped out lecture talking points for each slide, selected relevant vocal learning content (Youtube videos, book excerpts, articles, and audio), and created a pre-course survey that would help me double check the alignment of my design with their learning needs and motivations.
In the Implementation phase of ADDIE, I implemented the course in person on Zoom from my office where I had full access to a computer, a laptop camera, a piano, and a laptop microphone.
During the Evaluation phase of ADDIE, students were given an opportunity to review the coursee through the institutes provided channels.
Slides
Facilitation Guide
