Transmision #15 From Tycho (Music and Learning)

"Music is the electric soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents." - Ludwig van Beethoven

Phase of the Moon Today: Waxing Crescent 16% of Full; very eerie day today, foggy and misty all day, no moon observed

Beethoven is probably one of the most recognized composers of all time. His story is an interesting one in that he lost his hearing yet continued to compose, conduct and perform. And the quote above can really be applied to education and learning. We have been discussing various musical choices and songs to be used for science education. This spawned from an earlier discussion on 'space junk' which happened to make me recall a song by Jello Biafra and NOMEANSNO - The Sky is Falling and I Want My Mommy; a song about the possibility and inevitability of falling space junk (see Transmission #8). This discussion lead me to further probe the use of music in the classroom and how it can enhance learning.

According to Chris Brewer (1995) music enhances our learning and living. Most people are constantly engaged by music in their personal lives but why is it that when we go to work or school we shut this stimuli off?

We know that music achieves many of the following:

• establishes a positive state
• energizes students
• focuses concentration
• enhances creativity
• motivates
• engages

A teacher out of the UK, Caroline Molyneux saw the potential of music has embraced it her classroom and uses it to kick start her lessons and gets students engaged in their learning. Here is the article that describes her story: Using music in the science classroom.

What she accomplished was quite amazing. She began by playing a music selection along with the school's thought of the day. Soon the students were interested to hear the selection and in turn thinking about the thought of the day, something that didn't happen before. An otherwise boring start to the day from the student's standpoint became an exciting and eager event for the student.

She carried this practice to her science lessons and tried to find songs that linked the day's lesson with the particular song selection - it provided the needed attention grab to get students interested in the day's lesson. It also got the students thinking critically about the lesson and how the song fit.

After reading this article it inspired me to find songs for my class and try to incorporate them to engage students. Here are some songs that I found that may work in my high school science classes:

Artist/Song

Bad Religion - Big Bang - this song discusses the contrast between the Big Bang Theory and Big Crunch Theory - wold work well for Physics

Bad Religion - Kyoto Now - this song discusses the need for the Kyoto Agreement and how it will affect our lives - very applicable to many science classes

Crass - Nagasaki Nightmare - this song deals with the aftermath of the Nagasaki atomic bomb and its after effects

These are just a few I could think of. Below is a link to songs with Moon themes involved.

Here is a link to a website that has the lyrics to songs about the Moon: Moon songs and lyrics

signing off..

kb