Employing Music as an Entry Point into Classes

For the past 10 years, music has been employed as an entry point into classes at University "X". Using music as an entry point into classes has been an effective icebreaker. The musical prelude to class has pedagogical benefits in enhancing the readiness of students to start the intellectual work of the day. As class begins, students are energized and ready to learn; they are also ready to figure out how the music relates to the topic of the day. For example, to connect to the Mohr's Circle concepts, as students enter the classroom, an instructor plays a song with the word 'circle' in its lyrics, such as "Circle in the Sand" by Belinda Carlisle; "Circle of Life" by Elton John; or "Draw Me a Circle" by Barbara Streisand to stimulate learning and build students' enthusiasm about Mohr's Circle. A survey of students' perception of playing music prior to a lesson was conducted over a period of four years. This paper discusses the playlist of songs used in Mechanics of Materials, Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, Engineering Economy, and Engineering Probability and Statistics. In addition, it discusses the results of the survey of students' perception of playing music before a lesson.