MUSIC AND STUDENT MOOD MANAGEMENT By Willy Wood

Introduction An in-demand speaker and consultant in the field of

education, Willy Wood of Columbia, MO, uses psychology and neuroscience to assess teaching practices. Willy Wood stands out as coauthor of The Rock 'N' Roll Classroom, a book that shows teachers how to use music in their classrooms for mood management and learning support.

Studies have shown repeatedly that a student's mood affects his or her ability to learn. A depressed mood can generate distracting thoughts that interfere with task completion, and it can be difficult for many students to shake such a mood. Music, however, has proven particularly effective at shifting a person's mood from the negative to the positive, thus creating a state more beneficial to learning.

Student Mood Management In a study that analyzed music as a mood

management tool, researchers asked students to match their mental state to that of a positive piece of music. Those students that mood-matched to music before a teaching session and before a test performed noticeably better than those who did not listen to music, and a total of 85 percent of students reported a positive mood shift. Because music also helps to improve focus in a distracting environment and improve performance on immersive tasks, it can also help students to maximize their newly positive moods and get the most out of time spent reinforcing instruction.