Chapter 8 - Playing Music

When I was reading through Chapter 8, Playing Music, it reminded me of the time I went to Math tutorial at UTB-TSC tutorial lab. The reason I’m taking online course is because I don’t have time to attend classes at the college campus. Well, I could not remember how to work out some mathematical problem our online professor had assigned us and no one was available to remind me. I went to the lab and the only person available to assist me was a young student listening to his IPod. I said to myself, “This guy is acting just like my middle school students he thinks he can tutor me and at the same time listen to his IPod”.  To my surprise he had one ear plug in his ear and the other ready for listening. As I asked he answered and changed the music as he needed throughout the tutorial. The kid gave me great explanations and helped me understand the assignment. He never turned off his IPod! Ever since then my students have been allowed to listen to music while they work on their assignments. They understand that if their grades fall below an 80% then they will no longer listen to music until they pick up their grades. Like Burmark said, “But, buttom line, can music raise test scores?” (Burmark, 2011).

Works Cited

Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze, You Lose: The Educator's Guide to Successful Presentations. San Francisco: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated.