The Shadow

Hi Class,
This week I shadowed my fellow co-worker and mentor. Her name is Katie. Katie's responsibilities from the time she arrives to work on Monday's to the time she leaves include:
-Arrive at work at 3pm and teach pre-school aged children. In this class she reads the children books that begin with the letter of the week. This week was the letter "A." I forgot to write down the name of the book, but it was about an aardvark who thought a cowboy boot was another aardvark. After the children are read the story they then created their own aardvark's out of Crayola mold magic clay, Popsicle sticks, glue and markers. After the puppets were done the children were then brought into a circle on the carpet and were given an area of the world that they would represent. They either had Alaska, Africa, Australia, Arizona, the Rain forest, or the woods. The children were then given various plush puppets that belonged to Katie and if they were real animals would live in the various areas. After each animal was given to the children the children had to take their creatures to various areas of the room and we all took a trip around the world (around the classroom) to the different areas of the world. The children had to describe in each area what the climate was like there if these animals lived there. Towards the end of the 3 hour class, the children were then permitted to play with the puppets.
-At the close of this class, the children are picked up by their parents and Katie spends the rest of her shift preparing items for the Dia De Los Muertos celebration. This includes preparing the items that will be sold at the celebration and creating flyer's that will be handed out. It is time consuming, but well worth it.
From shadowing Katie I learned that her job is quite fun, although very busy and hectic when a festival is coming up. I enjoy working with her every week with the pre-schoolers and I hope to be working in a facility that allows me to work with children like she does. I understand that her work requires preparation, but from what she was telling me, it is a lot of fun and not hard to do. I can't wait until next week when I get to work with the children again.
Peace,
Dyanna Duncan

Information for the prospective employer...

Hello class,
For this week we were to post information that would be useful for a perspective employer. Below you will find my annotated resume.
Peace,
Dyanna


Dyanna Duncan
18533 N. Celis St. dduncan@asu.edu
Maricopa, AZ 85238 480-202-7475

OBJECTIVE

Obtain a position utilizing knowledge for theater

EDUCATION

· Tolleson Union High School GPA 2.93 May 2000
Tolleson, AZ

· Arizona State University GPA 2.99 Currently enrolled
Tempe, AZ


EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

U-Haul International, Sales and Reservation Agent, Phoenix, AZ May 2001 - Present
· Answer incoming calls and assist customers with making reservations
· Answer customer questions regarding U-Haul policies, procedures and equipment

SKILLS LEARNED

Interned at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona September 2008 – December 2008
· Assisted with art and improvisational acting classes
· Taught classes through skills learned from classes taken at Arizona State University
· Observed art classes and learned about the management of an art center

While attending Arizona State University:
· Prepared class outlines for the conducting of classes according to Arizona State Standards
· Taught class to elementary school children according to outlines with respect to Arizona State Standards

Taking what I'm giving and I'm working for a living...

Hi Class,
Before I answer this weeks blog questions, I want to update every0ne on my progress at the MAC (Mesa Arts Center). I have begun helping with the classes at my site. On Monday's I work with pre-schooler's with story time, music, and puppets. The children are read stories that begin with the letter of the week and they sing songs that begin with that letter. After story time they create simple puppets with material provided by the teacher that begin with letter of the week. This week is the letter D, so they were read The Diary of a Worm and they made worms out of socks, plastic bags, cut up noodle parts, and Popsicle sticks. Also on Monday I brought my niece to the classes. She is 2 years old, so she is a bit young for the class, but she still had fun listening to the story, dancing and singing during music time, coloring in the color books, and working with puzzles. The only aspect of the classes that I think she was a bit too young for was when the students made puppets. I didn't let her make a puppet because of the fact that they were created mostly with glue and glue plus a two year old typically does need equal a good idea. It was fun! After the pre-school class I also help with the improv for teens class. In this class the teens are working on monologues that they will be presenting at a competition later in the semester. On Tuesdays I assist with the 2nd grade aged children with art class, dance, and prep to performance. It's amazing how fast the children are learning the hip-hop routine the teacher has been guiding them through. They are going to present the routine to their parents next week. I think the parents will be as amazed as I am! On Thursday's and Friday's I assist middle school aged children to teen aged children with Improvisation. They play acting games that help get them more prepared with being on stage and in front of a camera.
Okay now that you have a general feel of what I do every week, let me answer the post for this week. In the future I hope to work in a facility that is similar to if not the same one as the Mesa Arts Center. I love working with young children in the use of theater. It's amazing to see their progress from week to week. You can really see their improvements and their personalities shine through, especially when they are allowed to create a scene with lines. As of yet I have not talked with the Human Resources department at the MAC about employment there, but I would be interested in finding out information about the policies, how much they pay, etc. Plus I also found out that you don't need a teaching certificate to work there. This is a major plus in my book! I will need to research this more, but I would love to work there because of the positive atmosphere that is promoted at the MAC and the friendly faces that work there. If I am unable to be employed at the MAC, I will be researching other locations and putting my resume out there to explore locations that are similar to the teaching ethics and friendly atmosphere that the MAC provides. This is my ultimate goal when I graduate is to work amongst children in the arts of theater (improv and acting).

Theories and Concepts applied at MAC

At the Mesa Arts Center (MAC) the theories and concepts that I learned at ASU are being applied everyday. Of the many theories and concepts I learned, these are some that I feel come to forefront at this facility. After I state the concept or theory I will express how it is used at MAC:
-Erik H. Erickson's Psychosocial Theory:
Emphasizes the importance of play as the child's attempt to synchronize bodily and social processes with one's self.
Play is emphasized at MAC by all the games played in classes everyday. Children learn through play.
-Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory:
Vygotsky believed that this life long process of development was dependent on social interaction and that social learning actually leads to cognitive development.
At MAC students interact socially with each other and learn about art depending on the class (improvisation, monologues, letters, etc.).
-Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences:
Multiple Intelligences is the understanding that everyone has 8 Multiple Intelligences that are grouped together into linguistic, spatial, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intra personal, and naturalistic. Depending on the person's learning skills and comprehension they are stronger in one or many of the given areas.
MAC allows the children to explore any or all of their 8 Multiple Intelligences through the many art classes they offer including improvisation, prep to performance and hip hop jazz.
-Improvisation:
Improvisation is the expression of acting that allows actors to create an "on the spot" creation of a scene and character without prepared script or lines.
Children at MAC act out scenes through the use of improvisation in warm up games and daily
activities.
-Monologue:
Monologue is the creation of a paragraph of speech to express a thought.
In the creative zone class teenagers develop acting and performance through the creation of monologues that they then act out and show to the class.

Updates at the Mesa Arts Center

This week I began my hours at the Mesa Arts Center (MAC). I think the MAC is more interdisciplinary because of the many classes that they offer and that I have observed. At MAC the classes are interdisciplinary because although the classes may be different, they are all in relation to art in some way or another. So they are interdisciplinary because they all relate to education and art.
On Monday I watched Pre-school children learn about the letter H. They colored this letter, heard a story beginning with this letter and played with puppets beginning with this letter. Next they went to music class where they sang songs beginning with H. After the pre-schoolers left I observed and assisted with teenage children doing improvisation. They played acting games and created monologues that they will be acting out next Monday.
On Tuesday I watched 2nd grade children draw pictures based on a famous artists works. It was amazing how they were able to copy the general idea of the artist and still create their own unique work. Next the class went to a Hip Hop Jazz class where they learned to dance using simple steps in a routine. It was amazing how the teacher was able to break down the steps and the students were able to follow each step almost exactly as the teacher showed them. Jeez they were good! After the Hip Hop Jazz class the students began their Prep for Performance class. In this class they were read a story of the 3 Little Pigs and then they chose characters that they made up, but were still related to the story. The students then acted out their parts into another form of the general story of the 3 Little Pigs. Since this week was my first week at MAC I was observing more than I was assisting, but next week I plan on helping out more with the teaching part of the classes and as time progresses I will be creating my own curriculum to teach the children in relation to what the teacher is trying to convey. It will be awesome and I look forward to it! Of course I will keep you guys up to date with more.

This is me..

Hi class,
My name is Dyanna Duncan and I am a senior at ASU. My chosen concentration areas are education and theater. Now you may be thinking, how do these two concentration areas relate. Well my journey at ASU began believe it or not as a Pre-Med major and then a biology major because I had to chose a focus for Pre-Med. Later I learned that I was mainly going towards medical to become a doctor and make a ton of money. I searched my soul and realized that although medicine can get me money, it isn't what drives me. So then I became an education major because I realized that I love children and I want to work around them. After taking a ton of education classes and still not getting my diploma, I talked to my advisor and she suggested that I become a BIS major. Of course I didn't know what it was and she explained that I can focus on more than one concentration here and after I graduate I can get my teaching certificate after only one more year of school. Sounded good to me! I chose theater because I took a few classes that focused on the importance of theater in school and that you can teach anything by using theater as your base. Not only that through theater I was able to play in my classes. Woo-Hoo! So here I am.
Now that you know what my educational career is all about, I will fill you in on my applied site for my applied study. My site is at the Mesa Arts Center. Here I hope to learn a lot about the use of theater in the real world amongst young children (I guess this is my personal gain). For this is my goal when I graduate to use theater to help teach children. Academically I hope to gain as much insight as I can about what it takes to teach children in theater using what I have learned from the classes that I have taken at ASU (such as Acting 101 and Theater for Social Change).
Unfortunately so far I haven't begun my hours at the Mesa Arts Center because the classes that will be taught there and that I will help to participate in and observe do not start until September 10th. But once the classes begin I will be observing much theater with young children between the ages of 9-15. I will be responsible to help guide the young children in learning about the theater classes. I am excited about these classes and I am counting down the days until September 10th arrives. I will of course fill you in on my experiences at the center and what I observe there once it starts. I'm sure I will have much to say because I hope that once I graduate that I will be able to work at a facility that is similar to if not the same place as the Mesa Arts Center.
Peace,
Dyanna