Rewind, Pause, and Turn Up the Volume

Why the Personal Playlist Project (P3) has something for everyone

Since my TEDxKitchenerEd Talk, almost 6 years ago, I’ve shared the Personal Playlist Project (P3) with far more teachers than I ever imagined. I share it so proudly because it builds skill, autonomy, community, and connection. It also adds music to the classroom, and helps me generate a playlist for my class.

How the Project Works — and Why the Design Matters

The P3 is something I recommend for students in Grade 4 and up. Students curate three songs:

⏮️ a nostalgic or throwback song

⏸️ a song connected to identity

⏩ a song that lifts them up, pumps them up, or helps them change their mood

Students don’t play full songs. They share a short excerpt—up to the chorus or the specific section they’re referencing—and no more than three students present on any given day.

This pacing is intentional. It protects attention. It honours listening. It ensures that each presentation is experienced, not rushed.

A Classroom Built Around Who Is in the Room

Like all of my Building Outside the Blocks (BOBs) projects, the P3 is grounded in a simple belief: the classroom should be built around who is in the room.

Every student arrives with something different—stories, languages, histories with music, ways of seeing the world. The P3 creates a structure where those differences are not side notes, but central to the learning.

Everyone has something valuable to contribute.
And everyone’s contribution is received.

When students understand that who they are and what they care about belongs in the classroom, learning changes. Risk-taking increases. Listening deepens. A deep sense of community comes over the class during each P3 presentation.

Why Music Works (Without Being the Point)

Music is powerful because it carries memory, identity, and emotion. It lowers barriers and invites students in. And, music is a lot of fun! (Ask me about some other musical Building Outside the Blocks projects like History Beats or Three Song Story)

But, the Personal Playlist Project is not about music as entertainment or reward. Music is the medium—not the outcome.

The learning lives in:

• the choices students make

• how they justify those choices

• the connections they draw

• how they listen to others

• how they reflect on themselves over time

For multilingual learners, music becomes a bridge—allowing students to draw on first languages, cultural knowledge, and lived experience. For others, it’s often the first time school learning feels connected to who they are beyond school (unless they have encountered another BOB projects first)

What Happens When Students Share With One Another

The P3 is a shared experience. Students present to the class, not just to me, and with no more than three presenters per day, everyone has the space to listen and learn from one another.

It sends students on a journey selfward, while also building collective understanding. Students do so well on this project that they build schema around what success in school looks and feels like. And in the process, they come to know themselves—and one another—better.

Here’s what students say, in their own words:

The P3 was a community building activity because we all got to know a bit more about each other… These aren’t the kind of projects you fall asleep during.
— Caiah

It helps strengthen the confidence of the class knowing that the people around you are starting to learn more about you and understand you.
— Liam

Everyone had their own touch… some songs were in different languages… it made the presentations more personal and fun to watch.
— Rameen

Music can be a self expression of your personality… Each song told a different story.
— Lily

I choose this song because there is one lyric, wait for flower to grow. This related to when I had just move in Canada and I was very shy like a seed, but after that I had a lot of friends, I felt a new self, like the flowers became more and more beautiful.— Hao

My favorite part of creating my P3 is to show my classmates the parts of music in me, which also lets them see another side of me and my identity. For example the things I like, my personality and my childhood. The best part of listening to my classmate’s P3s is to understand their opinion and preferences about music and learning more about them! The hard part about this was to just choose ONE song for every type! I’ve always had a hard time making decisions, and now giving me so many options of songs that can express who I am to my classmates! Thats why I did the Bonus Songs, in reality, I have WAY more songs that just that! — Yilin

I think my favourite part of creating my P3 was finding meaningful music that connects to me, then challenging myself to express my feelings into words. I think the best part of listening to other’s P3’s was discovering new music, and sometimes listening to music that you could also relate to. — Chelsey

Student reflections are reasons alone to keep making this project a yearly part of my classroom (or every other year if you’re teaching a split class)

Why I Keep Coming Back to the P3

I love the Personal Playlist Project.
And students do, too.

People I know have used it as an ice breaker, as a way to introduce yourself at a staff meeting, or a fun conversation to have at parties.

But more than that, it consistently does what I hope good learning experiences will do: it tells students that they matter here.

The P3 shows what’s possible when classrooms are built around listening, identity, and contribution. When learning honours who students are, how they think, and what they bring, engagement deepens and community strengthens.

The project may evolve. Contexts may change.
But the essence remains.

Music is a way in and a way out for people, and the P3 is a project that has something for everyone.

Watch my TEDx Kitchener Ed Talk to hear even more reasons why you should rewind, pause, and turn up the volume on the P3 in your classroom.

You can find the P3 (Personal Playlist Podcast) recording of all 159 educators who were on my podcast.