Music as a Tool in the Secondary Classroom

November 9th, 2009 By: Kerrita K. Mayfield, PhD in Articles, Teachers' Corner

Popular music and student’s preoccupation with it can be scourges of the secondary classroom. However, a savvy teacher can harness students’ interests in music and turn preoccupation into classroom community, commitment and comfort. Here are a few suggestions that have worked in my science, art and teaching methodology classrooms.

Community
At the start of the year, students are asked to submit a themesong that best represents them. Songs are limited to those without swearing or negativity toward a group. Please be aware that there are legal ways to accumulate music – purchasing in iTunes or playing the songs on a portable player attached to external speakers. And there are less legal ways of creating the compilation. Please behave in the way you and your students are comfortable.

It is amazing to watch students’ faces light up when their song is played – or as they look around and ask, “Whose song was that?” Students then understand that I am willing to give up some of the power of my classroom space to make room for them.

When students see me manipulate the player, they also have a visual cue that some of the work of class that day will be independent of me and that they should be prepared with their materials. Moreover, during laboratories, independent or group work sessions, the songs are a non-invasive timing element. I ask my students to do a “think-pair-share” task and give them “one song” to complete the task. After a fast formative check, students can request, “one more song” to complete the task.

Commitment
Themesongs are played throughout the year and students may ask to turn a song up or down – again providing them with ownership of the space. There have been some classes where after previewing the songs we briefly confer about the rules of play or the music’s purpose/structure/social implications. It is easy to undervalue such a seemingly minor task, but student ownership of classroom procedures is the first step in student onus about other educational tasks.

Comfort
Never underestimate student discomfort with assessments. When given an opportunity to complete a midterm exam or content quiz similar to the way they study, fully half of the class chooses the room with the soundtrack while others work in the library. Additionally, the music provides a quick pick me up when I need more student energy to complete a task than the students are manifesting. The soundtracks can be either motivating or calming.

I understand when administrators walk into a room and hear music, they wonder whether real work is occurring. I can assure you that when skillfully and mindfully implemented, music can be a tool that advances a teacher’s classroom and interactional goals with ease and meaning.

Kerrita K. Mayfield, PhD, is a former secondary school teacher and is a current faculty member in the Education Department at Elmira College, N.Y. You can visit her Web site at http://faculty.elmira.edu/kmayfield/index.html.

Tags: classroom community, Classroom Management, motivation, music