Keeping students engaged in class is an age-old struggle. While professors have employed a variety of strategies—creating pop quizzes, offering participation points, facilitating classroom discussions, assigning group work—some have chosen a creative alternative: music. An assistant professor at Yale University who recently tweeted to ask other professors if they’re playing music before class, and what students think, got more than 1,000 replies.
Music has been tied to positive classroom atmospheres, improving information processing and reducing anxiety and stress, according to the National Center on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments.
