Frank Machos Teaches Cameron Evans about Music, Marketing, and Consumerism

I was attracted to Frank Machos’ display from the Philadelphia School of the Future because of the MIDI music instruments and computers that he had.  When we talked, I discovered that this was not a music course, but a marketing class. Frank’s innovative approach is to get students to understand how various aspects of consumer marketing are created and then to drive mass appeal that leads to consumption.

Frank gets students to access prior knowledge and then flips it inside out to share with them perspectives they had not previously considered. The use of prior knowledge makes the course approachable and engaging for his students. In the space of the five minutes we talked, he was even able to take me on a trip down memory lane.

Watch our conversation from the recent  Microsoft Partners in Learning–US Innovative Education Forum, where Frank Machos was a finalist. When I took DECA in high school, I do not remember it being as immersive as Frank’s course.