Hi all, here's another article that I thought was really interesting: Bridging Music Neuroscience Evidence to Music Therapy Best Practice in the Early Childhood Classroom.
You can find a summary of the article here.
Do you use music in your classroom? If so, do you think it has helped students learned? How does the information in this article align with and/or contradict other chapters/ articles we've read so far this semester?
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ReplyDeleteI have never really considered using music in a classroom. The only time I have really considered using it is to help students remember important things, like the quadratic formula. But that has more to do with memorizing something rather than understanding or learning something. I have heard of teachers having kids write songs based on the content to help them learn it better. I think this could play a major role in memory. As for one of the reason being beat and rhythm like the article states, I don't really know. I have not had enough experience with this to make any statements confirming or denying this claim.
DeleteMeredith - it's interesting that you brought up the difference between memorizing vs. understanding/ learning, and that songs have been a useful strategy when working towards memorization. I think this makes sense in the context of student engagement, for example if songs are more engaging then it could help when the content is more about memorization than thinking.
DeleteI actually use music a lot in my classroom. I use it as a welcome in the mornings, I just have it on in the background. I use it during transitions (see link below) as I find singing to my 1st graders is a lot more effective that repeatedly asking them to come to the carpet. Plus they know when the song is over so they know when their time is running out.
ReplyDeleteHave a seat on the carpet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8cC1vtwLQg
I also use it to teach challenging concepts or concepts they understand but need to memorize.
Doubles song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik_-OAgzD-8
Teen numbers/ place value
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uedvwH6Ay18
I also use songs to teach our school values. We use the Leader in Me and teach our students the 7 habits of highly effective people. We made up songs to help them remember the habits and what they mean. For example:
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
(Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Let’s begin with the end in mind
Have a plan it takes some time
Do the things you need to do
Have a plan, it starts with YOU!
Habit 3: Put first things first
(Hokey Pokey)
You put your first things first,
You put your first things first.
You get your big things done,
You work then have fun.
I follow Habit Three and I can turn my day around
That's what it's all about!
Put first things first!!!!
Habit 5- Seek first to understand Then to be understood
Row Row Row Your Boat
Seek first to understand
Then to be understood
Be a friend and think win win
Listen before you talk (clap clap)
I have found that putting their learning and the habits into songs helps them remember. My favorite is when they are trying to do the right thing I overhear them singing to themselves to help themselves remember what to do. I just find that singing everything makes directions less confrontational and learning more accessible and easy to remember.
Katy- thanks for sharing these great examples. It's interesting that students will sing the songs to themselves, and definitely shows that the songs are making the concepts "sticky."
DeleteI love music in the classroom. When I taught first grade I used music quite often. I would introduce songs on one day of the lesson and then we would continue to review the song everyday afterwards, as long as we were working on that skill. For example, when we were doing doubles addition, I introduced the doubles song (http://www.songsforteaching.com/math/additionsubtraction/addingdoubles.php) and then we would practice it every day. Sometimes multiple times day. This was a positive impact because not only did the students learn the song, but they had to practice body movements to go along with the song. They really looked forward to it. It kept them engaged. I believe that this allowed the students an opportunity to differentiate their learning. To make sure the students fully learned the skill, so I had them create their own movements to go along with the song. I believe this allowed the students an opportunity to make more of a personal connection with the song, which allowed them to actually learn the concept.
ReplyDeleteLike Meredith, I have only really used music as a way to help my students memorize important formulas. I'm not sure how singing the quadratic formula to the tune of pop goes the weasel helps my students understand the concept better, but I know that it definitely helps them remember the formula. As the students work problems using the formula, you can hear them humming it out each time they write it. I think this is awesome, because the quadratic formula is something that algebra students need to commit to memory. In addition, I do play music for the students as they work on activities independently or in small groups. The high school I am currently teaching in allows the students to use their phones to play music with the permission of the teacher. When I allow the students to do this, it is amazing at how zoned into their work they become. This article was really interesting, and I would love to find ways to incorporate music into my math classroom!
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, I think this is a good distinction between using music to help students memorize something and using music as background noise to promote engagement. I think oftentimes when we think of students listening to music while doing work we think that they're not paying attention, when in reality it may be helping. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteMusic’s effect on brain structures to increase engagement, attention, word recognition, and mathematical achievement is well documented in the research cited in this article. I do not incorporate music as much as I should in my Talented Theatre courses, as I spend a majority of time trying to integrate drama/theatre with the core curriculum. There is also much research on the arts-integration versus arts-enhancement debate. It has been shown that arts-integration is better for students and increased success in both the core curriculum subject AND the art form subject.
ReplyDeleteI believe classroom teachers feel more comfortable with music enhancement versus music integration. Here are two examples of each:
Music Enhancement:
-Singing the ‘Fifty Nifty United States’ song to remember the states
-Songs from “Schoolhouse Rock” that aid in memorization
Music Integration:
-Teaching rhythm/steady beat/time signatures of music and connecting this to ELA through Poetry Rhyme schemes
-Teaching a genre of music (i.e. “jazz”) and connecting this to Social Studies via the Harlem Renaissance
As much as I advocate arts integration versus enhancement, I believe that the right music in any setting leads to increased happiness and reduced stress. I see the joy students get from joining choir and our annual Spring musical. The music teachers at all three of my schools have the least amount of student discipline issues and write-ups. Therefore, there are implications for every teacher, especially those trying to reduce anxiety and stress and increase positivity within their classroom climate.
-Jamie Hipp
I think it is so interesting that the music teachers at three different schools had the least amount of discipline problems. I definitely notice that when my students are working independently and are allowed to listen to music they are far less sidetracked than when I don't allow them to listen to their music. I have had many students tell me that they can't concentrate as well when they aren't listening to music. At first I thought that they just wanted to take their phones out in class. After I allowed them a few chances to show me that they could listen to music and get their work done I was amazed. The behavior difference is like night and day when I allow them to listen to music.
DeleteI used to work in the children's section at the public library, a job which required I do "storytime," a performance of classic children's stories often set to music. From this experience I know how effective music can be in not only entertaining but also teaching young children basic truths about life. Since I’ve been teaching I have had a different but no less important use for music. As I stated in my earlier post about multitasking, we listen to music in my classroom often, especially when the students are working on a specific task for an extended period of time. My students are a bit older (8th graders) than those studied in the article.
ReplyDeleteI’d really like to try and use rhythmic music during a class at some point as the article suggests it would improve student attention and performance, just to see how it compares to the gentle classical we normally use.
Jonathan - if you try using rhythmic music in your classroom please let us know how it goes!
DeleteI don't often use music in the classroom to assist learning. Occasionally I will put it on as background music, but sometimes I worry that this might be distracting to some students. I know music may help some and may distract others therefore, I try to use it only on occasion. Personally for me, I need complete silence to work. Music distracts me and I fear that it will distract some of my students as well. On the other hand, some people need a little noise in the background to get their mind to focus. I find music in the classroom to be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteShelli, I definitely understand where you are coming from. In my current placement, I have the option of allowing my students to play music on their phones. So no one is forced to listen to music if it is a distraction for them. However, I have to be really strict about the phone policy- choose a playlist and I don't want to see your phone out again. Sometimes while we are working on group activities the students will ask me to play music for them. I am not opposed to this because the students aren't working in complete silence, so I don't feel that the music will cause more of a distraction for them. I also asked the students to let me know if the music that I play is ever distracting. I would also like to think of other ways to use music as a tool in the classroom rather than as just background music.
DeleteAshley, I love the idea of having them make up their own movements. I can imagine that would make the lessons stick so much more. Do you have a special process for having them come up with motions? Do they come up with all motions or just some?
ReplyDeleteJamie, thank you for helping us differentiate between enhancement and integration. This week we read a book that illustrates the lyrics to “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands.” I was SO surprised by how much they loved it. Students who are usually too intimidated to pick up a “real” book and try to read it were running their own personal story time in centers (even sending their friends to “take a break”). It was so neat to see the music give them the confidence to step out of their comfort zone. I know that my example still isn’t true integration, but it’s definitely closer!
I would love to hear more about how secondary teachers use music in their classroom.
I love using music in the classroom especially. I remember a lesson I thought a few years ago as part of the schools reading program, I taught the students salsa dance and had them listen to salsa music. I also have used it for creative writing as morning work. I would play jazz or classical and have them write their own interpretations of what emotion the music might be conveying. I also make up little songs and raps/rhymes for teaching concepts in science and social studies. I think it really helps the kids learn and retain the information not only for the test but for future reference.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was a freshman in high school I had this algebra teacher that would make up songs for algebraic formulas. To this day I specifically remember the quadratic formula because of him.
I was to the tune of "pop goes the weasel".
x equals negative B
plus or minus the square root
of B squared minus 4AC
all over 2A
I think that music defiantly effects our brains plasticity. Music is repetitive and inviting and it helps us with stress. It is important in early childhood development but it is also beneficial later in life especially in high school giving our students a new way to think about studying and learning new concepts. I watched a video about a Columbia University graduate Phd and high school chemistry teacher who uses not just music but musical culture to get his students excited about science. Improving their plasticity by making the lesson something they crave to learn because it is meaningful to them.
Morgan