JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, Volume 3, Number 4, 2010©2010 University of PhoenixPublished online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI:10.1002/jls.20147108

JOHN L. HALL

TEACHING WITH MUSIC

An Alternative Pedagogy for Leadership Educators

Imagine a classroom with every student engaged in theleadership lesson of the day: a class encouraging andchallenging every student to individualize and take own-ership of their education. This may sound like a fairytale or a dream too good to be true, but before you dis-miss this idealistic concept take a moment to think backto your childhood. As you reflect on a few of the les-sons or concepts you learned then, can you rememberyour teachers or parents using a song to reinforce thelesson they were teaching?

Learning the alphabet is a great example of musicbeing used to help children learn. You may recall the al-phabet song, whose lyrics and music (“a-b-c-d-e-f-g . . .Now I know my ABCs; next time won’t you sing withme?”) were written to provide a catchy melody easy forchildren to remember. Even though your childhooddays are long gone, there is a good chance you still re-member songs and nursery rhymes from childhood thathelped you learn. Music is a powerful teaching tool ed-ucators can use to create a fresh and innovative approachto learning that promises to invigorate the traditionalleadership classroom. Numerous educators and schol-ars would agree that alternative ways to teach leader-ship are needed. Jennifer Williams says that “leadershipeducators are constantly looking for new and innova-tive ways to teach leadership theory” (2006, p. 61). Thisarticle gives theoretical examples that support music asan alternative pedagogy to enhance the effectiveness ofleadership educators.

Music as a Teaching ToolIn recent years, numerous scholars and researchers (Andenoro & Ward, 2008; Callahan & Rosser, 2007;

Hall, 2008; Stillman, 2006; Williams, 2006) have sug-gested using popular culture to help students learn lead-ership theories and concepts. There are several forms ofpop culture that have educational value: Movies, music,art, and poetry are just a few that have been used byleadership educators. Regardless of its form, when usedcorrectly, pop culture adds a new dimension to the tra-ditional classroom. All too often educators rely onstraight lecture to teach leadership concepts; today’sstudents “have been raised in a technological era withinstant access to information . . . with graphics, video,sound, and music” (Younkin, 2009, p. 72). Educatorsshould seek to teach students in a manner that is con-ducive to the methods of learning with which they aremost comfortable.

Furthermore, educators need to put the leadershipcontent into a context students can relate to. Music isone of the most widely accessible forms of pop culture.It is rich in leadership content and allows flexibility inmeeting students’ individualized learning needs. Musicinfluences all cultures, regardless of age, gender, race,or socioeconomic background; additionally, music re-flects trends, norms, and attitudes of society (Hall,2008). A major benefit of music is that it provides acontext that students can relate to, and it favors use ofseveral songs in one lesson to enhance the leadershiplessons being taught.

In addition to the numerous practical reasons thatsupport using music in the classroom, several theoreti-cal frameworks support the educational value of thispedagogical approach. The work of numerous scholars,among them Dewey (1938), Gardner (1999), Rosenshine and Furst (1971), and Zull (2002), gives

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educators valuable components for creating an idealpedagogical toolbox.

Teaching leadership with music is a way to use theconcepts of experiential learning; this experience givesstudents a break from traditional lectures. John Deweyis often credited with the concept of experiential learn-ing; he challenged educators to recognize the connec-tion between education and personal experience (1938).Music affords students a “personal experience,” one thateducators can use to stimulate thought and reflection.Reflection then leads to action—action that ultimatelyleads to student learning.

Another important theoretical framework to consideris Howard Gardner’s eight dimensions of learning(1999), which are described in his theory of multipleintelligences. Music constitutes a direct connection withat least four dimensions: interpersonal, intrapersonal,linguistic, and musical. Students who learn throughthese dimensions greatly benefit from leadership beingtaught through music. Interpersonal intelligence focuseson understanding others and working together. Musicis an opportunity for students to gain different per-spectives by listening to a number of genres and types.How an individual understands his or her life andmakes decisions on how to live relates to intrapersonalintelligence. An appropriate selection of music can helpstudents make sense of their world and build strong self-esteem. The words in music can challenge linguisticabilities and inspire learners to be active in the educa-tional experience. Students who favor musical intelli-gence will be engaged in the class activity because theyhave an innate appreciation for music.

Educators should also consider the work of Rosenshine and Furst (1971), which identified severalbehaviors of effective teachers. Clarity, variability, enthusiasm, and opportunity for students to learn ma-terial (1971) are the behaviors demonstrated by effectiveteachers. Appropriately using music to teach supportsthese behaviors for effective teaching; as educators weshould strive to employ the behaviors and strategies thatresearch has proven beneficial to student learning.

One final example to support this alternative peda-gogy is the biological explanation of music’s ability toinfluence an individual. Music’s influence is a result ofthe structure of the human brain, more specifically inthree functions of the cerebral cortex: sensing, integrating,

and acting (Zull, 2002). People sense what is happeningin their environment, then integrate what is happeninginto images and thoughts, and finally take action in var-ious forms. An illustration of this process is shown withmusic. As a song plays one hears the lyrics and instru-ments (sensing), creates images and thoughts from thisexperience (integrating), and then takes action based onthe complete experience. According to Zull, music cancreate a connection with learners in a personal way thatdraws on previous meaningful experiences.

The natural process that occurs between the brainstructure and learning is a tremendous opportunity touse music as an instructional tool for leadership devel-opment. Music has a significant place in teaching as thesounds fill the classroom, stimulating the senses,

Exhibit 1. Tips for Teaching Using Music

• Identify and analyze the student audience (size, knowledge

level, age).

• Ensure the facility or classroom has adequate equipment to

play music.

• Use music to complement and support a lesson that is built

on solid content (even the “best” music will not support

weak content).

• Select music with key points or components that reinforce

the lesson objectives.

• Prepare handouts to guide student discussion, reflection, and

retention of key material.

• Keep the class focused on the specific elements of how the

selected music relates to the content being taught.

• Use a variety of genres and music from different time periods,

being mindful of your audience (do not stereotype).

• Be aware of the historical and current events associated with

the music and musicians (each can influence the student’s

perception or image of the music, positively or negatively).

• Distribute a handout with lyrics for the selected songs.

• Do not overuse music in the class, workshop, or course.

• Remember the three “Cs”:

• Be Creative as you plan lessons and activities, and allow

students to be creative.

• Be Confident when teaching, believing that the music will

stimulate learning.

• Challenge students to find music they relate to that por-

trays components of lessons taught in class.

Source: Hall (2008).

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thoughts, and actions of students. According to Zull,music is a great way to aid in the learning process;“sound is a natural vehicle for learning” (2002, p. 155).Music influences the emotions, attitudes, and perspec-tives that an individual projects in life. In short, musiccan have a great impact on an individual’s view of whatit means to lead and how he or she chooses to lead.

Applications for teaching leadership with music arelimitless, thanks to the expansive nature of both lead-ership and music; one should look at the topics onewishes to cover and find the most appropriate sectionsfor applying music. Teachers considering the use ofmusic to teach leadership concepts should look at thesuggestions offered in Exhibit 1. Music is a promisingtool because it is appreciated globally, is easily accessible,and is accepted by the masses. Integrating music intothe leadership lesson allows educators to reach a greaternumber of students and create an environment con-ducive to learning because multiple learning styles areencompassed. Music is an exciting pedagogical tool thatoffers an alternative to the traditional methods of teach-ing leadership. Educators who find appropriate musi-cal selections will be able to challenge and inspirestudents to learn about leadership from a fresh per-spective that has personal meaning individualized tomeet their learning needs.

ReferencesAndenoro, A., & Ward, S. (2008). Infusion of popular culture: Acatalytic approach to developing critical thinking in undergraduate

leadership students. Journal of Business & Leadership: Research, Prac-tice and Teaching, 4(2), 85–94.

Callahan, J., & Rosser, M. (2007). Pop goes the program: Usingpopular culture artifacts to educate leaders. Advances in DevelopingHuman Resources, 9(2), 269–287.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Simon andSchuster.

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the21st century. New York: Basic Books.

Hall, J. L. (2008). The sound of leadership: Transformational lead-ership in music. Journal of Leadership Education, 7(2), 47–68.

Rosenshine, B., & Furst, N. (1971). Research on teacher perform-ance criteria. In B. O. Smith (Ed.), Research in teacher education: Asymposium (pp. 37–72). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Stillman, R. (2006). Exploring films about ethical leadership: Canlessons be learned? Public Administration and Management, 11(3),103, 197.

Younkin, W. (2009). Pedagogical and andragogical challenges inleadership education. Journal of Leadership Studies 2(4), 72–74.

Williams, J. (2006). Pirates and power: What Captain Jack Spar-row, his friends, and his foes can teach us about power bases. Jour-nal of Leadership Education, 5(2), 60–68.

Zull, J. (2002). The art of changing the brain. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

John L. Hall is a graduate teaching assistant in the Agri-cultural Leadership, Education, and Communications De-partment at Texas A&M University. He is currentlyworking on a Doctorate of Philosophy at Texas A&M andcan be reached at jhall@aged.tamu.edu.