Chemtunes

A pilot study of setting the rote to music

Abstract

Rote learning can be dull! Yet for students to be successful at higher levels of education, there is a large base set of knowledge or vocabulary that must be learned and recognised, despite the absence of any rhyme or reason in said knowledge. This is commonly true of many sciences and languages. Historically, such information has been learned by rote and drills - both quite effective techniques, but not very engaging. The current project investigates the production of musical parodies with lyrics attuned to the knowledge requirements of the student as a means of increasing accessibility, student interest and overall information retention. The success of this work-in-progress venture will be explored through student participation, feedback and results on related examination questions.