from the Faculty Center for Professional Development
November 3 , 2008
Here's an interesting idea from a teacher of public speaking. This idea seems most appropriate to classes that deal with social issues, but it might be adapted for issues in the sciences.
This professor had his students present songs that dealt with various social issues of their choice. The students handed out copies of the lyrics, played the songs, commented on them in front of the class, and turned in a written analysis of the lyrics. The main task for analysis was to explain how the songwriters acted on listeners' emotions and intellect to make their points. Students drew distinctions between emotion and logic in the songs.
The professor was pleased with the range of issues that the students identified, including domestic violence, vegetarianism, homelessness, civil unrest, and environmentalism and racism, to name a few. The students reported that they became more aware of issues and got to know their classmates better. The exercise provided an avenue to explore cultural diversity as well, since students chose different kinds of music and talked about why they chose their songs. This exercise appealed to students, obviously, and the professor was pleased with the quality of their work.
Providing a break in the routine, while still exploring substantive content, is a good way to re-engage students, and ourselves, with the material.
To read the entire short article, please see the following reference:
Martin, G. 1994. Music promotes appreciation for cultural difference. College Teaching 42(4):150.
College Teaching is available as a full-text, on-line journal through CSU Libraries.
