Rhythms of Learning

by Chris Brewer, MA, FAMI

There's a rhythm in the flow of our lives each day
There's a rhythm in the patterns of our work and play
There's a rhythm in our talk
There's a rhythm in our walk
There's a pattern that connects me to you
And we can find the rhythm between the two.

Rhythm is perhaps the most universal aspect of life. In essence, we are rhythm! Science has given us a rich knowledge of the rhythms present in every aspect of life and nature: even the simplest one-celled creatures vibrate with particular rhythm.

Our bodies pulse with the rhythm of breath, heartbeat, cycles of energy and attention, hunger, sleep cycles---every aspect of our existence flows with rhythm. Even though we may not be consciously aware of the rhythmic cellular dance, or pay direct attention to macrorhythms of solar movements, rhythms guide and direct our life.

Personal Rhythms

Each person has a personal tempo depending on unique patterns of energy flow and the demands of daily routines. The brain and body organize these mental, emotional, and physical rhythms into signals that illustrate a person's state.

We can learn to read these signals in ourselves. You may be aware of regularly recurring times when you feel tense and nervous or experience slumps in energy. And, you can learn to recognize these rhythms in others.

The rhythms in music and sound can be used to help us slow down or speed up when we need a change in pace and we can use music and sound to help us maintain a specific tempo. When we understand the effect of sound upon us, we can intentionally use it to create a desired sound environment. Our ability to learn well, to think and create, is a unique process that can be nurtured and enhanced.

We can use the rhythmic, the tonal, and the emotional vocabulary of music to create an optimal learning state, to maintain our attention, and to help bond information within our minds, bodies, and emotions.

We now know that our learning experiences occur not only on the level of cognitive thinking, but also with our bodies and our emotions, creating an unspoken image within the mind. Through music and rhythm, we can integrate all of these aspects of ourselves into the learning experiences, and our learning is actually easier.

Student-Teacher Rhythms

Entrainment is the ability to observe and enter into the rhythms of another. Ideally, entrainment becomes a two-way street of communication, the avenue by which an exchange of inforrmation can lead to the discovery in learning. Entrainment between students and teachers is critical to learning.

Usually students are expected to entrain with the teacher, no matter where they are in their personal rhythms. Students either quickly develop a sense of how to be with the teacher, or they may never develop this sense and suffer academically. But when the teacher can develop a sensitivity to students and their rhythms, the foundation of rhythmic teaching is built.

Successful teachers often use the pace of their voice, mood, and timing to create a place of harmony and trust that facilitates the discovery journey. Entrainment of teachers to students' rhythms can occur even when teachers are speaking or lecturing, as they watch student response and adjust the pace, vocal inflections and patterns of presentation. This will enhance the student's ability to receive what is being presented.

A good teacher possesses the power to transform the quality of classroom life. The tools we use to orchestrate the rhythms of mind, body, and emotion are similar to techniques used in music therapy to direct conscious attention: entrainment, diversion, and the iso principle. Because these tools help to devleop learning skills, the are as important as the information presented.

Rhythms in the Classroom

We quickly habituate to the sound of an automobile when we ride in it. We can habituate to background music or the drone of a voice when it becomes monotonous. When habituation takes place in the classroom, the whole track of learning can be replaced by boredom or frustration, which may elicit behavior problems. Our attention improves when we are presented with a rhythm that elicits interest and curiosity.

Diversion is one of the most commonly used multisensory teaching techniques for stimulating the classroom away from habituation and boredom. A simple change in the pattern of the voice, the dynamics of expression, of the tempo of speech, can alter the classroom flow.

Diversion can also be accomplished by rearranging desks, using music to create a soundbreak, by changing the typical flow in a lesson plan, or using a different teaching technique.

A change in tempo and mood is accomplished by entraining to the present mood and slowly altering the pace in the desired direction. This is called the "iso principles," a natural and intuitive process. The teacher can use this technique to move an individual or even an entire class into a desired classroom experience, a place of release and rejuvenation, or a productive learning state.

In the classroom, the iso principle can be used to move high energy to a state of calm by gradually slowing the teaching pace. This is done by changes in voice speed and tonality, movement patterns or paying music of progressively slower tempos. The students can be led to a state of greater excitement by reversing this process.

Attuning to Rhythm

The ability to be sensitive to rhythms and attention level can be the greatest asset in developing the skills to maintain optimal alertness and increase learning potential. The key lies in being able to recognize and direct rhythm patterns and attention. In fact, being attuned to rhythms of learning is not another method, it is not a book or a worksheet, it is a process. It may be simply Not Doing Anything, just realizing that the student's learning may be enhanced by allowing them quiet time and space to incubate a thought and to let that thought blossom on its own.

Rhythmic Teaching

Rhythmic teaching is recognizing that the most beneficial way to learn might be a student's need to move with an experience, to touch and manipulate an object, to bond a concept into rhythm, rhyme or song, or to draw a thought into a visual image.

Rhythmic teaching allows students to develop their own optimal form of learning. Every individual will find learning tools that suit personal abilities and interests. Some tools will work better than others for particular students and classes. They rhythmic teacher becomes a facilitator in the learning journey, allowing students to explore new ideas creatively.

Using the Sound Environment

We have taken only a glimpse into the power of music and rhythm to educate and engage the learner. By developing insight into personal rhythms and a sensitivity to the effects of music and rhythm, one becomes a conductor and orchestrator of the sound environment. By intentionally using rhythm and music as a tool, you can enhance the joy, the learning, and the health within your life and the lives of your students.

Published in The Open Ear, Winter 1992