Use of Technology and Music To Improve Learning PDF
Use of Technology and Music To Improve Learning PDF
Use of Technology and Music To Improve Learning PDF
Ronald A. Berk
Dr. Ronald A. Berk is Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics and Measurement at Johns Hopkins
University. He can be reached at www.ronberk.com or rberk@sonjhmi.edu.
Berk
Instructional Outcomes
The entertainment value of music has been demonstrated. The key
question here is: Why isnt there a soundtrack to accompany this
chapter? Thats actually still in production, but thats not the question
I was referring to. Instead, What is the learning value of music in the
classroom? Here are twenty potential outcomes to ponder:
1. Grab students attention
2. Focus students concentration
3. Generate interest in class
4. Create a sense of anticipation
5. Establish a positive atmosphere/environment
6. Energize or relax students for learning exercise
7. Draw on students imagination
8. Build rapport among students
9. Improve attitudes toward content and learning
10. Build a connection with other students and teacher
11. Increase memory of content/concepts
12. Facilitate the completion of monotonous, repetitive tasks
13. Increase understanding
14. Foster creativity
15. Improve performance on tests and other measures
16. Inspire and motivate students
17. Make learning fun
18. Augment celebration of successes
19. Set an appropriate mood or tone
20. Decrease anxiety and tension on scary topics
After you have finished pondering, consider the theoretical and research
evidence related to these outcomes, which is reviewed and critiqued in
the following two sections: (a) music and the brain, and (b) the effects
of music on learning. This evidence furnishes the foundation not only for
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how music can be used as an effective teaching tool but, more important,
for musics potential as a legitimate, systematic teaching method for all
K12 teachers.
emotions are dominant, and the left hemispheres rationality drops out of
sight temporarily. Slow, minor-key music fosters alpha waves. It relaxes
the brain, which can be useful when reviewing content so that it passes
into long-term memory (Millbower 2000).
Beta waves are the patterns of a fully awake mind, when the left
hemisphere kicks into action. This is multitasking mode for the Net
Generation, when they are functioning at optimum speed. Fast, up-tempo,
major-key music can snap to attention students who are in a drifting
alpha or meditative theta state, leaving them super alert and ready for
whatever activities the teacher has planned (Millbower 2000).
Music-brain conclusions. The value of music as a teaching tool lies in
its potential to do the following: (1) tap the core intelligences of musical/
rhythmic and emotional (interpersonal and intrapersonal); (2) engage both
the left and right hemispheres; (3) appeal to the reptilian, limbic, and
neocortex layers of the brain to sense the nature of sounds, react to
music emotionally, and appreciate it intellectually; and (4) manipulate
students alpha and beta brain waves to relax or alert them for learning
when theyre not sleeping in delta- or theta-wave land. It would be a
shame not to stir up these intelligences, hemispheres, layers, and waves
in the classroom to promote learning. For an opposing perspective on
the adequacy of the preceding cognitive neuroscientific findings and their
implications for educational practice, see Waterhouses (2006a, 2006b)
critical review of the evidence.
keep their attention while slipping content into their long-term memory.
Researchers found that when the music and action stoppedsuch as in
scenes taking place on Sesame Street consisting of dialogue between
adultschildren stopped watching (Fisch and Truglio 2001).
This music-action formula to learning has not been kept secret by the
production staff of Sesame Street. Yet how many K12 teachers have
taken advantage of these powerful learning effects? The time for waiting
is up; the Net Generation demands it. Students today have minimal
patience with content requirements and the attention span of goat cheese
(Berk 2008). They want everything now. These behaviors, however, are
by choice. They can spend hours playing video games or participating
in other activities in which they are interested (Prensky 2006); they just
find most school subjects boring. Unless the content is on their radar
screens, they cant stay with it.
These characteristics of the Net Geners suggest that teachers should
consider the music-action formula Sesame Street uses for preschoolers.
Teachers need to create elementary, middle, and high school student
versions of Sesame Street in their live, face-to-face classrooms. The
application of music will be a start to break the mold of traditional
teaching practices.
Mozart Effect or not. There have been several studies on the effects
of instrumental music on spatial-temporal reasoning. Couched within the
context of neurophysiological theory (Leng and Shaw 1991), the first
study by Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky (1993) found that listening to music
and executing spatial tasks share neural pathways in the brains cortex.
The music serves to prime, or warm up, these neural transmitters for the
subsequent execution of spatial reasoning tasks. This finding was referred
to as the Mozart Effect, named after Beethovens Fifth Symphony,
which was used in the study. Wrong! It was a Mozart piano sonata.
College students listening to the first movement of Mozarts Sonata for
Two Pianos, K. 448, had a significant but short-lived (1015 minutes)
improvement in spatial reasoning. The researchers followed this up two
years later with another study, which produced similar results (Rauscher,
Shaw, and Ky 1995).
Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Wright, Dennis, and Newcomb (1997) then
investigated preschoolers who studied piano. They found that those
children performed significantly better in spatial and temporal reasoning
ability than those who spent the same amount of time learning to use
computers. This work was extended by Graziano, Peterson, and Shaw
(1999) with 237 second graders who had both piano keyboard training
and innovative math software. Those children scored significantly higher
on proportional math and fractions than the control group, which had no
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her own values, beliefs, and principles. The teacher should make every
effort to reject any lyrics that are even borderline or potentially offensive.
The pool of available music is so large that picking the right stuff should
not be a problem. If it is a problem, the instructor should seek counsel
from colleagues who would be sensitive to such issues.
Types of Music
There are a variety of music types that can be used in the classroom. The
actual choice will depend on the characteristics of the students and their
interests. The sources identified in the next section will suggest methods
for obtaining that information. In the meantime, here is a shopping list
to keep in mind: (1) classical; (2) early romantic; (3) late romantic;
(4) twentieth century; (5) TV, movie, and Broadway soundtracks; (6)
pop (e.g., Top 40, country, easy listening, rap, hip-hop, rock, rhythm
and blues); (7) jazz; and (8) new age (Millbower 2000). Other factors
to considersuch as emotional effects, visual imagery, and instrumental
versus lyricsare briefly discussed next.
Emotional effects. All of these types can evoke or induce anger,
excitement, activity, motivation, love, laughter, whimsy, tears, dreams,
calmness, relaxation, sleep, and a coma. Music can have powerful
emotional effects. Teachers need to decide the effect they want to
produce in a given learning situation. Applied inappropriately, the music
can distract and decrease learning, even incite students to riot. Unless
rioting is a specific learning outcome, teachers should be very discerning
in their choices.
Visual imagery. The emotional arousal evoked by music may also be
accompanied by visual imagery. There is an individualized jukebox
full of memories inside every one of us. Hearing a piece of music
automatically brings those special memories into focus like a photograph
(digital, of course). Hearing the music alone triggers a response similar
to what has been called a flashbulb memory (Brown and Kulik 1977;
Sierra and Berrios 1999; Winograd and Neisser 1992).
Music serves as a retrieval cue for those personal memories. When the
teacher presses the play button, the students mental picture buttons
are pressed into action. Snapshot images suddenly pop into their minds.
These images may provide recollections of any of the following: (a) the
person performing the song or composition; (b) the person with whom
the student associates a scene from a particular TV program, movie, or
musical; (c) the person with whom the student heard it; or (d) the time
and place where the student heard it. Other details may be recalled as
well. All of this occurs in a nanosecond. This image creates feelings,
emotions, and moods related to that previous experience. They may be
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is to write new lyrics derived from the actual content. That strategy can
be a powerful learning tool. The title of a song with or without lyrics
can also be changed to put a relevant spin on the song. The new title
alone can have a significant impact on learning and memory.
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CD vs. Internet. There are two principal sources from which to obtain
music: original CDs or the Internet. There are several factors to consider
in using these sources. If the music needs to be extracted and converted
to a format compatible with Microsofts PowerPoint (PP), the Internet
may already have the converted version; otherwise, the teacher will have
to do the extracting and conversion with specific software, such as Sony
Sound Forge Audio Studio 8 or 9, unless he or she has a Mac. Other
factors include the following:
Factor CD Internet
Cost Expensive Free or cheap
Quality High GoodHigh
Format Not PP compatible Some PP compatible
Most recent music Very good Very good
availability
Related music Excellent Not available
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When the music stops, class begins. Students should be told that that is
the cue to end talking and shift gears into learning mode. (Note: In the
elementary grades, this strategy may be repeated every time the students
enter the room from lunch, recess, physical education, or field trips to
New York to see Mary Poppins.)
Once students are ready, different music may be used to begin the day.
For example, the recording of the first violin revving up an orchestra
to open a show or concert can be played. This can be followed by a
PowerPoint slide of a curtain being raised (transition uncover up) to the
up-tempo Everythings Coming Up Roses or Thats Entertainment,
which will engage all of their hemispheres in the room.
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3. Topic Introductions
One of the most attention-grabbing, tone-setting, anxiety-reducing strategies
to segue from one topic to the next is to play music with a topic slide.
The music can be instrumental or with lyrics, but must be related to
the content of the topic. Here are a few instrumental examples from our
world:
Topic Music
Mathterpiece Theatre: Theme from Masterpiece Theatre
LOOOOOONG DIVISION
Law 101: Theme from Law & Order
Make My Day!
Korean War Theme from M*A*S*H
Writing a Coherent Paragraph: Theme from Jaws
Just When You Thought It Was
Safe to Go to English!
Todays class is brought to you Theme from Sesame Street
by the no. 15 and the letter M
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4. Content Grabbers
Carrying the preceding technique one step further, music can be integrated
into the content material being covered, which will be totally unexpected.
The right music can pump life into the most boring content. Teachers
should not stop with the topic introduction, but build on that music to
add other selections as the content is being revealed. They should search
for every content nook and cranny to insert up-tempo music. Costumes
and props can also accompany this music to provide a visual treat to
dramatize the effect. This will keep the students attention, interest,
motivation, engagement, concentration, and emotions in the content rather
than drifting elsewhere. Here are a few suggestions with music from
our world:
Content Music
Relationships Theme from The Odd Couple
Support Networks Youve Gotta Have Friends
Classroom Survivor: Theme from The Good, the Bad,
The Good, the Bad, and and the Ugly
It Could Get Ugly!
The Heart Simply Irresistible
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So whats the big deal? The MUSIC! Here are a few music choices:
Boys Girls
Bad Boys (Theme from Cops) What a Feeling (Flashdance)
Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) Shes a Lady (Tom Jones)
Bad (Michael Jackson) I Enjoy Being a Girl
Born to Be Wild (Steppenwolf) (Flower Drum Song)
Law & Order (Theme) Friends (Bette Midler)
Stayin Alive (Saturday Night Fever) All That Jazz (Chicago)
Dreamgirls (Dreamgirls)
Think about those songs for a moment, all of which are played with
lyrics except Gonna Fly Now and Law & Order. Remember, this
musical event occurs in English, mathematics, science, history, and
every other subject where it doesnt belong. What happens is totally
unpredictable. As the students walk to the front, they may dance, box,
use hand and arm gestures, or mimic the lyrics. Anythings possible.
Sometimes costumes, such as hooded sweatshirts for Rocky or white
gloves for All That Jazz, may be used to exaggerate the effect.
The music and the students antics become the punchline. It is unexpected
by the class. The students erupt with laughter. It takes about 15 seconds
for each group to get to the front of the room. Sometimes theyll end
with a hilarious group pose. Those 30 seconds create an amazing effect,
one which the students will long remember.
When the music stops and everyone settles down, the attention of the
class is riveted on the visual demo. What a powerful supercharged
opening this music can create, instead of students just walking to the
front of the room.
Despite the preparation involved behind the scenes to create the
demonstration, the execution by the teacher consists of just pressing
the play and stop buttons on whatever player is being used. The
element of surprise is also an essential ingredient in the success of the
demonstration. The class never knows when the next one will occur.
The students involved in the demonstration are sworn to secrecy. If the
demos are sprinkled throughout an entire semester, usually above-average
attendance can be ensured. Intermittent reinforcement does work. If a
student misses a demo on an important concept or process, there will be
no repeat performance.
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Once the review is completed and before the students leave, the teacher
should ask if there are any remaining questions. He or she should then
give a few words of encouragement, make the expectations clear for
the test performance, and offer up We Are the Champions (Queen),
We Will Rock You (Queen), Hakuna Matata (Lion King), the high
school football fight song, or some other up-tempo, appropriate music.
Students should depart with the proper supportive tone and the feeling
that the teacher really cares about their performance. In this application,
the teacher creates the context; the music sets the tone.
Finale
This chapter was designed to acquaint you with the potential value
and uses of music across the K12 curriculum. Music is a virtually
untapped resource for teaching the Net Generation and for drawing on
their multiple intelligences to increase the success of every student. Its
learning potential was expressed as twenty instructional outcomes at the
outset and ten specific techniques at the end. The material in between
those anchors was mostly research filler. The theory and research on the
brain and music and learning were reviewed and critiqued. The research
on music and learning was more encouraging than informative. The
results accumulated so far are merely suggestive rather than conclusive.
A considerable amount of research evidence needs to be collected in all
subjects and grade levels.
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