Music has a profound on mood and overall productivity, so why not apply this to our classrooms? Certain types have a calming effect and can help students get in the mindset of quite work and others can pump them up and get students excited for the day. Finding the right mix of music to add to the classroom can have an enormous effect on your classroom productivity.
Stress Relief
Music has the power of stress relief. How you ask? Good Question. Music has a calming effect and even has been linked to reducing heart rate and normalizing body temperatures. Music is used in work environments to increase productivity, so the same tactics should be applied to our students for similar effects. Reducing stress and improving overall attitude is something that will only benefit our students in the long run.
Memory Boost
Studies have shown that listening to classical music while studying can improve short term memory and leads to longer retention. This phenomenon is know as the “Mozart Effect.” Providing this tactic as a study tip or even playing classical music during silent review times can help students overall.
Positive Mindset
All types of people use music to get them in the right mindset to complete tasks and improve mood. Athletes use music when training to help them push deeper and work longer. People in the workforce use music to complete tasks that may be tedious, but music helps them focus and complete the task quicker.
Similarly, students can utilize music to get them focused on a project, help them get in a creative mindset for art class, or even just providing a calm background noise for independent work. Music is a powerful resource that we as teachers have at our disposal, but do not always use.
Brain Power!
Studying and performing music has been linked with brain development. Learning a musical instruments aids in intellect development and expands the areas of perception, imagination, and visualization. Honing these areas can have a large effect on other areas of study and overall productivity. Plus learning an instrument takes dedication and commitment, both of which are excellent skills to develop further for students.
Overall, music and music education plays a pivotal role in our students lives. It can help them create a calming space to do work in, increase their brain power, and even improve long and short term memory. Music is a powerful resource that often goes under utilized. Integrating certain music techniques inside and outside of the classroom will improve your students productivity!