Involving music in the classroom can be extremely useful to gain participation and increase the energy level of the students. Different types of music can be used for different types of activities. Slower music can be used during downtime and faster music during an activity. Whatever the students should be acting like with their energy is the level of music that should be included. Making sure the implementation of the music is welcomed by the majority of the students is important, so that everyone has the best chance of learning at an optimal level. Music can allow different parts of the brain to be activated and help students learn in a different way then they are used to, which could allow for more optimal learning.
Application:As a student myself, I love having music involved in the classroom in certain situations. If there is a test or hard assignment occurring, I really struggle to have music playing. If it is a fun group activity, I would like to have music to increase the energy in the room. In an intro level course, I would definitely want to include music before class began, and during activities. Never during a test or more serious assignment. As my assessment says, I would want to gauge the interest in music and if it would be liked by the majority of the students.
Assessment: Background Knowledge Probe (Barkley & Major, 2016, pp. 85-90)Since music while learning is different for everyone, I thought doing a background probe would be useful. I could ask students their preference of music, if they strongly oppose the use of music, and if they have had previous experiences they would like to share. This would just be on a sheet of paper and it would be anonymous, so I would get the most honest answers. The preparation wouldn’t be too extensive, but I would have to come up with the questions to ask the students. The analysis would be high with this approach, because I would want to implement the best use of music based on their answers.