student focus

On the last day of the semester, we were reviewing for finals in my Algebra 2 classes. The previous day, there was a lot of talking and little work getting done. I allowed my classes to listen to their idods in class while they were working. I was amazed to find out that the music helped them focus on their work. I always thought that the music would be distracting to the students while they are focusing on their work and the opposite is true. They worked much better with music. I have decided that my classes will be allowed to listen to their music in class during the time that they are working individually on assignments. It seems to be working so far.