Nov. 4, 2008
Hastings wins grants to advance arts
teaching and learning
A University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) music professor has
won two grants that he hopes will improve the way fine arts are
taught and learned.
David Hastings, a professor of saxophone, won a $20,000 grant from
the UW System Office of Professional and Instructional Development
(OPID) to hold a collaborative conference for the system’s teachers
of the arts. He also won a $28,192 UW System grant to use
technology, such as video and audio equipment and the Internet, to
track the learning and progress of music students at UWSP,
UW-Marathon County and UW-Marshfield/Wood County.
The result of his OPID grant, “Artists Training Artists: A
Collaborative Conference on Teaching and Learning Through the Arts”
will bring teachers of music, dance, theater and communication
together at UWSP for three days next June to share teaching
strategies and hear from a keynote speaker. Due to the grant and
assistance from UWSP administrators, the only cost to conference
participants is lodging. The grant also funds the creation of a Web
site after the conference to post narratives and summaries of what
was learned.
Hastings collaborated on the project with fellow Music Professor
Charles Young. Appropriately, their inspiration for the project was
the many collaborations between faculty members in UWSP’s College of
Fine Arts and Communication, including Young and Associate Professor
Stephen Smith, theatre; Young and Professor Leslie Midkiff DeBauche,
communication; Hastings and Instructor Jeannie Hill, dance; and
Associate Professor Kristin Thielking, art and design, and Associate
Professor Robert Rosen, music. These faculty collaborators are
serving on the Artists Training Artists Conference Advisory
Committee.
Hasting was also encouraged by his participation in another OPID
program, Wisconsin Scholars, in which faculty from across the UW
System meet and discuss teaching strategies.
“If we pay attention to other disciplines in the arts, for example,
if I as a musician observe a teacher of sculpture or dance, I will
gain insights into their methods,” he said. “What we all have in
common is that we’re all communicators in different ways, be it
through words, dance, theatre, music or film.”
Hastings’ second grant stemmed from an idea he had while he was the
chair of the Music Department – learning more about individual
student’s strengths and weaknesses to help them succeed. Over a
two-year period, this grant will help develop an electronic
portfolio of each of his saxophone students’ music and non-music
skills by recording their interviews and performances.
Through a collaboration with Jeff Erickson at UW-Marathon County and
Dave DeLyser at UW-Marshfield/Wood County, the program will also
help students at the two-year colleges decide if they want to
continue their study of music at UWSP.
“This is about preparing and nurturing our students,” said Hastings.
“The idealistic goal is to have each student do well in their
specialty and help us advise them to make choices that steer their
path.” If the program is successful he hopes it can be integrated
into other fine arts departments at UWSP.
