About Marty

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Education Media Design & Technology MS Program, Full Sail University
As a producer/engineer, I have worked with artists like Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Johnny Gill, Phyllis Hyman, Keith Sweat, and more. Prior to graduating from Delaware State University, my R and B band, "Final Mixx", won the 1989 National Budwieser Showdown Band Competition, which resulted in a recording contract with Motown Records. During my time at Motown, I was able to build my career in recording, engineering, and the technology of music. I am currently employed at Delaware State University where I serve as the Music Technology Specialist. In addition to working at the university, I also own a private recording studio where I work with DSU student interns seeking additional hands on experience in the production and recording environment.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

WK4 Reading: The Art of Possibility Chp. 9-12

The practice of enrollment, in many regards, sounds similar to what I have been doing for the past several months but didn’t actually realize that I was doing it. Perhaps many of us have been demonstrating this practice unknowingly. I have always believed that when you discover what truly interests individuals, you not only add that ‘spark’ within them, but within yourself as well.

Many of my students seem to enjoy music immensely, however, I have noticed that when it was time to incorporate music technology as a learning tool, they seemed to think that everything was going to be extremely technical. They initially viewed it as all technology jargon and intense engineering protocol, leaving no room for fun and enjoyment. It wasn’t until I spoke with them and probed to find out what their musical tastes were and suggested to them that they could learn, experiment, and discover with the musical styles of their choice. Many were surprised that I did not suggest that it had to be classical music, which they had been accustomed to hearing in all of their other courses. What I was most interested in accomplishing was allowing each of them to reach their full potential in performance techniques and how to use music technology to help achieve that goal. This approach, rather simple in my opinion, lit a fire in all of them. They became eager to get started and began to invoke a sense of creativity even I didn’t expect.

Once it was understood that they could use any style of music to engage in the learning process, they started working even harder and longer to perfect their original works, which was beneficial to the overall goals. I was completely overwhelmed with the shift in attitude by simply appealing to their interests. It was if those ‘steps to the practice’ of enrollment were evident in what was a natural process at that particular time. When you are passionate about what you do, I believe you can find ways to give individuals that spark that allows them to become much more engaged in whatever they are participating in.


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5 comments:

  1. UnknownMay 27, 2011 at 7:05 PM

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  2. UnknownMay 27, 2011 at 7:09 PM

    Marty.

    I can see that your teaching style truly matches what we see in the text, "The Art of Possibility." Your blog post illustrates how your students make assumptions about what is possible and come to you with limits already set. After getting to know them you find their interests and look for a shared passion then help them fan that little spark inside into a flame. As you noted, once you do that your students become "eager" to get started and do things at levels that you didn't expect. That is really cool.

    Great thoughts. It is evident that you are a great teacher. Glad I got to make your acquaintance in this program. Keep up the great work!

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  3. Susan CallandMay 28, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    I totally agree with you Marty in that if you are able to discover the interests of an individual it can spark both the individual and you. It definitely sounds as though you bring the best out in your students and you do it very naturally. Allowing them to use the technology, which was the objective, on any type of music made them not only more comfortable, but also more interested since it centered around something they could relate to. Engagement is the key to getting students to learn as much as possible. You really have them engaged so they are learning much more.

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  4. J.McPeekMay 28, 2011 at 7:01 PM

    You have helped me understand the practice of enrollment a little better by the way you have explained it here. I have struggled a few times in this book with phrasing or wording to his ideas. My plan is to reread this book in a more leisurely fashion this summer. I agree that sometimes figuring out what triggers that spark is a challenge and allowing someone to reach full potential can be just as challenging for some individuals. I am interested in your observations of students being convinced the music technology was going to be “extremely” technical. I am afraid to say that I have not even considered that as a concern but understand how that could easily be the case. In the future if I get the chance at a music tech course I will have to keep that in mind.

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  5. Ashley NottisMay 29, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    Marty, as the others have said I total agree with you. Giving students a small amount of freedom and choice causes their creativity to explode. During my cycle 1 of my ARP I let them pick what type of presentation they wanted to do and they could also choose who they worked with, as long as I approved it. The look on their faces was priceless. They worked 10 times harder because they liked what they were doing, and who they were working with.

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