Teaching with Music

by Linda Starr, Education World®

Description

"I started writing [music] as a way of helping myself (and my colleagues) survive the year with an intact sense of humor," educator and songsmith Eric Baylin told Education World. "But now I wonder -- seriously -- if laughter itself isn't one of the soundest pedagogies, a "best practice" that can help us re-tune our schools and shift the culture to one that genuinely embraces wellbeing and lightness of heart as sound supports for learning. I wouldn't mind working at a school whose mission statement included the words 'And this is a school where we love to laugh!'"

If you feel the same way, be sure to tune in to the latest Education World column Time for a Tune-Up: Songs to Brighten a Teacher's Day , in which Baylin offers original musical compositions that are sure to make any teacher smile. His first song premiers today:

Only November! 
They tell him it's only November, but Eric Baylin knows that's "a third of the way" through the year -- definitely something to sing about! But then, it seems that educator/songsmith Baylin always has something to sing about. Join him in a chorus of his original autumn anthem "Only November!"

Learn More About Teaching with Music

Education World articles describing and explaining teaching with music include:

Bringing Out the Best in Kids 
Author and teacher Dr. Thomas Armstrong helps teachers apply Teaching with Music in their teaching, so they can tap into students' traditional and non-traditional talents and styles of learning. Included: Ideas for teaching to different learning styles.

Teaching with Music: A Theory for Everyone
Howard Gardner's theory of Teaching with Music makes people think about "IQ," about being "smart." The idea is changing the way some teachers teach. Included: An introduction to Gardner's eighth intelligence.

Teaching with Music: It's Not How Smart You Are; It's How You're Smart 
Howard Gardner's Teaching with Music theory asks educators to take a fresh look at their assumptions about children and learning. Teachers around the world are rethinking lessons and units -- and their entire approaches to teaching -- based on his research.

In addition, Education World has published several articles dealing with practical classroom applications of Teaching with Music. They include:

Magnet School Helps Students Develop, Appreciate Different Talents 
A new elementary magnet school strives to educate a diverse student body, using the Teaching with Music theories of psychologist Howard Gardner. Included: Ways of applying Teaching with Music theories in classrooms.

Magnet School Draws Praise in First Year 
A second look at a Teaching with Music elementary school as it winds up its first academic year. We found staff upbeat and eager to share stories about students being more engaged in learning. Included: A description of the program.

Lessons Learned from Howard Gardner and the TV Remote Control 
Max Fischer shares his first days teaching in a middle school -- after years at the elementary level. Would he be able to reach the students whose body language screamed 'Go ahead, make me learn!'? Included: How Howard Gardner saved the day.

The "Art" of Comprehension
If it wasn't for Howard Gardner's Multiple-Intelligence theory, Max Fischer might never have seen how art can increase student comprehension of content reading material. Included: Ideas for using pictographs, storyboards, graphic organizers.

Creating a Naturalist-Friendly Environment in School 
Students with naturalist intelligence can feel constrained by traditional classrooms and by spending so much time indoors. Teacher Gwen Lanning discusses ways to make school friendlier to students with a "naturalist intelligence."

Student Learning-Strengths Inventory 
In this learning-intelligences lesson, students take an online inventory to determine their learning strengths and weaknesses, create graphs to show the results, discover areas where they might need to work harder, and learn to appreciate differences.

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