Ariel Thongkham
Science 8A
Mrs. Redifer
2/30/18
Is Music in the Classroom a Distraction or Study Tool?
In this day and age where technology has become essential to society as a whole, it seems that every student has access to a mobile device. Access to a mobile device gives students the capability to easily obtain music softwares, such as iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc. This privilege that students possess, encourage the integration of music in the classroom. Currently, students and teachers have found creative ways to use music as a study tool. Music is able to change the way you feel, which acts as an advantage while you are studying. When it comes to teaching about the past, an American History teacher found it helpful to play music from the era her students were studying. The music affected her students' emotions in a way that helped them deeply connect to the era on a spiritual level. In addition, she discovered that classical music changed her students' emotions by making them calm and focused on their work. Certain genres of music can also stimulate your mood, which results in a better performance. When students are feeling fatigue, they tend to be too tired to complete assignments to the best of their ability. However, when listening to certain music that boosts their energy with excitement, it can cause them to do work to their fullest potential. Although music is very beneficial to student learning, it is important that students are listening to the right music while studying.
Do particular genres of music change the way you feel? Music has the ability to affect your emotions in a way that can be beneficial to student learning. An article titled "Music in the Classroom: Distraction or Study Tool" discusses an interview with American history teacher, Katie Chester, at Empire High School in Tucson, Arizona. Upon being asked about her thoughts of music in the classroom, Ms. Chester responded by saying, "For history, we do music of the time period to get a more emotional look at the era. Plus classical stuff helps [the class] calm down and focus". When Ms. Chester's 5th period American History class was learning about the 50's era, she played music from the 50's era while they were studying. She discovered that as the students listened to music from the era they were studying, it helped them become more spiritual toward the era and even have a deeper connection to that time. As a result, students were more eager and wanted to learn which helped them get a better education. In addition to this, when students weren't learning about a different era with predominantly different music, Ms. Chester played classical music for her class. Classical music brings tranquility to the classroom which aids the class to calm down. Thus encouraging them to focus on what they are doing.
Along with affecting your emotions, listening to the right song can stimulate and help boost your mood, essentially causing you to ameliorate your performance. According to the article titled, "Music in the Classroom: Distraction or Study Tool" it states that, "When you hear something you like, it heightens your arousal and mood, which improves performance". Especially with pop culture and up beat songs, people tend to have uplifted excitement upon listening to them. This increase in energy can be so critical to student performance. For example, if students are taking a test or completing an assignment with fatigue, it can greatly effect their performance. Most times when students and people in general feel lethargic, they don't want to do anything and incline to give up on what they are doing. In addition, feeling tiredness also results in the person not concentrating on tasks they need to complete. However if they listen to songs that enliven their spirits, they'll become more energetic and will be motivated to finish the task at hand. Plus, being more awake with a positive mood always helps you focus. So it is important for students to tailor the correct song for studying. Their personal, ideal song should activate their emotions in a way that makes them feel more cheerful and alive. Furthermore, it should inspire them to concentrate and complete what needs to be done.
The opposing side of this argument believes that music acts as a distraction rather than a tool in the classroom. In an article titled "Why You Shouldn't Listen to Music While Studying" it explores research and tests taken by the University of Wales Institute that discovered, "Participants performed worst while listening to music, regardless of whether they liked that music". Researchers instructed 25 participants to memorize, and later recall, a list of letters in order. Participants were tested under various conditions that include listening to quiet music, music that they said they enjoyed, music they said they didn't enjoy, a voice repeating the number three, and a voice reciting random single-digit numbers. The results of the study led to the idea that "Music may impair cognitive abilities when you're trying to memorize things in order, because you may get thrown off by the changing words and notes in your chosen song". Although studies do prove this claim to be true, previous studies have found benefits to listening to music before performing a task. In the same article "Why You Shouldn't Listen to Music While Studying" it says, "Listening to background music prior to task performance increases cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, through the mechanism of increasing arousal and positive mood". So while lyrical music may be a distraction to some when engaging in a task, listening to music before engaging in a task is helpful. In addition the research only supports how lyrical music affects your memorization. Thus leading to the idea that listening to music while completing tasks not requiring memorization, may be fine.
The escalation of mobile devices and access to online software or applications, has given students the privilege to listen to music in the classroom. In order to use music as a study tool, it is essential that the proper music is played for it to be beneficial in student learning and performance. For music that is played in the classroom, classical songs tend to make students serene. Moreover, classical music makes students focus on what they need to accomplish. If students are learning about times of the past or different cultures, it is helpful to play music of the era or culture they are studying. Listening to this type of music, assists students to have emotional look on what they are learning and have a deeper understanding. Students are able to focus, connect, and understand the material they are being taught depending on different genres of music, because music is able to change your emotions. Adding on to this idea, certain genres of music can change the way students feel by increasing their arousal and mood. Upon listening to pop songs, student energy levels correlate with the upbeat tunes. This can be necessary when students are feeling too tired to complete work to the best of their ability. However, pop and upbeat music can help awaken these students and as a result, they will put their full potential to the task at hand. Recent studies show that lyrical music acts as a distraction while memorializing material. Instead, it is more advantageous to listen to lyrical music before performing memorization tasks. Lastly, students should tailor music that works for them. No matter what research proves, it is important that students listen to music that genuinely helps them in the classroom.
