It's not unusual...

It's time for another assignment post. Eight chapters of required reading for only a 300-500 word response, so that's nice...

Totally recommend both books, by the way.

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Although I thoroughly enjoyed and was challenged by reading Chapters 1-5 in Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, a number of “Huh!” moments came to me while studying Studio Thinking. This may be due to the fact that I have had limited experience in the art classroom as a teacher (less than two years.) I am finding as I learn more about pedagogy, my mind as a sponge sometimes soaks up information and practices not based in fact or supported by research. And while I believe my instructors and/or fellow teachers were not malicious in their intent to teach me certain theories, some of these same popular theories are argued against in the first three chapters of Hetland, Winner, Veenema, and Sheridan’s Studio Thinking, specifically concerning music.

In Alternative Certification and Teacher Preparation classes, I have been taught this blanket principle (paraphrased): “It is best not to play music in the classroom, as it might be distracting for some students. But, if you choose to play music, always play classical. Classical music helps kids learn.” However, in Studio Thinking Chapter One, “The Failure of Instrumental Arguments”, the authors are quick to debunk this principle by stating:

Listening to classical music improves performance on some spatial tests in adults. However, since the effect is transitory, lasting only 10-15 minutes, this finding has no direct implications for education (Hetland, 2000a).

In Studio Thinking Chapter Three, “Elements of Studio Classrooms”, the topic of background music as an atmospheric element is discussed. As an artist who completed AP Art I-IV in high school and graduated from college with a Studio Art degree, music while creating art is not a new concept for me. However, I was surprised to learn that effective art teachers use music for more than just “white noise.” Chapter three tells us that Jim Woodside, a drawing teacher and the Director of Visual Art at Walnut Hill School, uses music to lift energy in his classroom, while other teachers use it to help manage clean-up. Kathleen Marsh, a sculpture and drawing teacher at the Boston Arts Academy, uses slower, calming music as an “aid for concentration.” These examples seem foreign to me, since as a high school student I felt I was subjected to whichever style of music my art teacher preferred, with little to no regard to how the music would impact my learning. “Tom Jones stresses you out? Too bad!”

With this new information (and because of my love for music), I am excited to use background music as a learning aid in my classroom. I plan on experimenting with different genres and hypothesize that, along with reaction time (mentioned in Multiple Intelligences as a measure for intelligence,) student creativity and productivity may increase if I can find the right “groove.” I’ll just leave the Tom Jones at home…

For more information on integrating music in the classroom, whether into the curriculum or as an atmospheric element, please visit the links below.

http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/brewer.htm

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2241162/Music-in-the-Classroom-Paper

http://www.advancedbrain.com/Article_Music_in_Classroom.asp