Willy Wood, prominent educational speaker in Columbia, MO, and coauthor of The Rock ‘N’ Roll Classroom, draws on his knowledge of how the brain learns in his work consulting with educators about using music in the classroom. Willy Wood explains how a simple MP3 player in the classroom can help to reduce stress and increase focus. Using music as a teaching tool can help children, particularly those who are experiencing stress.
Stress can cause many problems when children are learning, particularly in reading, understanding language, and numbers. Worse, stress can prevent memories from being readily retrieved when necessary, which can cause children to perform poorly on tests or in class. Incorporating music in the classroom has been shown to help children learn and to help reduce stress.
Neuroplasticity, or the creation of memories in the brain, is reinforced by repetition. Many teachers have used the repetitive patterns in music as an aid in teaching children to find patterns in vocabulary or reading, which can help them learn. Calming music also can help students de-stress before taking a test. Incorporating repetitive rhythms and calming tones will lead to better test scores and higher grades.
Stress can cause many problems when children are learning, particularly in reading, understanding language, and numbers. Worse, stress can prevent memories from being readily retrieved when necessary, which can cause children to perform poorly on tests or in class. Incorporating music in the classroom has been shown to help children learn and to help reduce stress.
Neuroplasticity, or the creation of memories in the brain, is reinforced by repetition. Many teachers have used the repetitive patterns in music as an aid in teaching children to find patterns in vocabulary or reading, which can help them learn. Calming music also can help students de-stress before taking a test. Incorporating repetitive rhythms and calming tones will lead to better test scores and higher grades.