Last time I discussed how music could be a powerful tool for a teacher. But what good is a tool if you don't know how to use it? Below are two ways that I think music can most effectively be used in a classroom.
1. Using music as a memory tool/mnemonic to learn other content.
2. Using music as part of the content.
#1 is a way to use music to teach pretty much any subject. Whereas, #2 is typically used more in history classes, but it could be creatively applied to other subjects as well. In this blog, I'll be discussing #1. (Don't worry, #2 will be clarified & discussed in a later blog.)
For this blog I want us to take a look at two videos. Both videos use a song to help teach the quadratic formula. As a math teacher, I would list this as one of the top 5 formulas everyone of my students should know. Um yeah...it's that important.
Ok, let's pretend you are a math student cramming for a big quiz on the quadratic formula. You know you're not ready (mainly because you've been surfing YouTube all day). So you decide to look for a way to easily remember the formula. In your search, you come across two videos...
Here's video A. Now that you've watched that video, what's the main thing that stuck out to you? I know for me all I could remember were the words "quadratic formula, quadratic formula, quadratic formula" but not the actual formula! Back to our imaginary scenario, I'm taking the quiz the next day and trying to hum this song, but all I can think about is snap bracelets, meeting a man on the street, my tombstone, and the words "quadratic formula". Super annoying huh? I mean really...what does any of that stuff have to do with math? These lyrics are what I call "fluff". They take up space in the song but don't assist in learning the main objective (in this case the quadratic formula). I'm not saying this song is terrible, but it seems ineffective to me.
Now watch video B. Make sure you watch the whole clip. How is this song different from video A? Which one would you rather learn to help you with the big quiz? I don't know about you, but I'd choose video B any day. I'm not saying it is perfect, but here are some of the reasons I found this video to be a better choice.
For this blog I want us to take a look at two videos. Both videos use a song to help teach the quadratic formula. As a math teacher, I would list this as one of the top 5 formulas everyone of my students should know. Um yeah...it's that important.
Ok, let's pretend you are a math student cramming for a big quiz on the quadratic formula. You know you're not ready (mainly because you've been surfing YouTube all day). So you decide to look for a way to easily remember the formula. In your search, you come across two videos...
Here's video A. Now that you've watched that video, what's the main thing that stuck out to you? I know for me all I could remember were the words "quadratic formula, quadratic formula, quadratic formula" but not the actual formula! Back to our imaginary scenario, I'm taking the quiz the next day and trying to hum this song, but all I can think about is snap bracelets, meeting a man on the street, my tombstone, and the words "quadratic formula". Super annoying huh? I mean really...what does any of that stuff have to do with math? These lyrics are what I call "fluff". They take up space in the song but don't assist in learning the main objective (in this case the quadratic formula). I'm not saying this song is terrible, but it seems ineffective to me.
Now watch video B. Make sure you watch the whole clip. How is this song different from video A? Which one would you rather learn to help you with the big quiz? I don't know about you, but I'd choose video B any day. I'm not saying it is perfect, but here are some of the reasons I found this video to be a better choice.
- This song is short & concise. A student can watch this song about 4 times during the time it'd take me to watch video A once.
- Most teens would recognize this melody immediately, unlike the first video.
- The song does not have those"fluff" lyrics I talked about earlier. Literally the entire song is the quadratic formula. If you remember the song, you remember the formula. Teacher Tip: If you're writing a song to help students, put the most important information in the chorus not the verses. The chorus is repeated more often so it is more likely to be remembered. Here is a video C that illustrates this point well.
- It seems the students created this song themselves (with a little help from Soulja Boy) and had fun doing it. Teacher Tip: The book DRiVE suggests that autonomy (or choice) is important in increasing student motivation. A good project idea would be to let students come up with a song to study for a test. The students get to choose which style of music, song choice, & whether or not to add dance moves, motions or other props. If they create it, they're likely to take more ownership of it. Leave room for their creativity.
- This is a collaborative group project (a key characteristic described in Teaching the Best Practice Way). Teacher Tip: If you do plan on assigning a project like this, keep in mind that not all students desire to sing/perform, especially alone. A group project could help offset that fear of performing alone. Also, make sure you have a safe environment. It is not about being an amazing singer or performer. It is about the lyrics and the song's ability to help students remember content. These students may not all be in tune or the best singers, but they know the content so that means success.
There is a lot we can learn from these videos as shown above. Here is a recap of Teacher Tips for using music in the classroom
- Cut the fluff
- The chorus should be the most important information (definition, formula, rule, etc)
- Make it fun!
- For student projects, leave room for student creativity and decision
- Group rather than individual projects
I haven't done this kind of math in years but now I can sing the quadratic formula in my sleep! haha Thanks for including all three videos in your blog, in that it gave me a clear understanding of how songs should be written for students to really grasp the full meaning of what is being taught. Definitely helps me put into perspective how I will approach music and learning in my future classroom. Like yourself, I do not remember anything about the first video, but can still sing along to the second one. Besides math, have you found other videos for other subject areas that use music as a memory tool?
ReplyDeleteI loved the video links to illustrate your arguments as you went along. It really did help you notice a difference in the "fluff factors" and in the last 2 you can definitely tell the kids had a great time writing them. Looking back on your key points I realize that maybe I should have put more info in the chorus part of my Mathmateer song (its just so hard to do the important stuff when there's so little syllabus to work with!). The repetition aspect would have made the song even better (maybe a better sing would have helped also). Great work, I can't wait to see the next one.
ReplyDeleteI loved the analysis, the comparison, the videos. Great post.
ReplyDeleteDr L
Just like Jennifer said, I too can sing the quadratic formula song to this day! Although, just like you said, any time you include art in projects there is a possibility for "Fluff." I think an important thing to note is that this also applies to visual arts as well. If you are drawing a cnidarian, you don't need to make it cute... sometimes students get lost more in the art than the material. Excellent post and discussion.
ReplyDeleteAs a musician, I found your post extremely relevant. Thanks for incorporating aspects from our book review book, as well. You made some excellent points (especially about the chorus -- or the "hook" as they call it in songwriting). I will remember your points well whenever I craft my own song for my math students (hopefully this year). Looking forward to your next post!
ReplyDelete