Session 49 Lightning talk: Playlists, practice, and participation: how music helps students engage

Abstract

Session overview:

In simulated healthcare education, we strive to create immersive, engaging environments that help students build confidence and competence. While traditional approaches focus on clinical skills and scenario-based learning, the role of environmental factors - such as background music - is often overlooked.

This lightning talk will explore the positive impact of student - curated background music on engagement, confidence, and inclusivity in simulated learning environments. Initially introduced as a small initiative to make sessions feel less sterile, the "Unifun" playlist has now grown to include nearly 18 hours of music, all chosen by students. This simple yet effective approach fosters a sense of ownership, collaboration, and psychological safety, encouraging students to feel comfortable and engaged in their learning.

By sharing this experience, I aim to highlight how music can enhance learning, reduce anxiety, and make educational spaces more inclusive and student centred. Attendees will gain insights into how this low-effort, high-impact strategy can be adapted to different disciplines and how small environmental shifts can lead to big changes in student experience.

Without music, sessions can lack energy, and at times students rush to complete tasks and the session run the risk of become purely functional. By introducing music, the aim is to introduce an extra level of enjoyment

Key learning points from this session:

Attendees will learn how a simple, student-led initiative—curating a shared playlist - can enhance engagement, well-being, and inclusivity in simulated and practical learning environments. They will leave with ideas on how to implement similar approaches in their own teaching to foster a more student centred, engaging, and psychologically safe learning space.

Playlists, practice, and participation: how music helps students engage PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.