WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY

ACTION RESEARCH IN MUSIC EDUCATION

Editors

Thomas F. Sherman
Ed. D., University of Colorado, 1980
M. Ed., Colorado State University, 1975
B.S. in Ed., State University of New York, College at Buffalo, 1970
A.A. Liberal Arts, Paul Smith’s College, 1967

Margaret Lundquist
M.S., Winona State University, 1997
B.A., Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, 1983
 Will Listening To Music 2

Table of Contents for Music Education

Anderson, Mary
Gail...........................................................…………………3

Will Listening To Music In The Learning Environment

Enhance The Perception Of The Visual Art Experience For
Students?

Johnson, Nancy...................................................................
Will Teaching Music Composition Through An Integrated,
Transformative Or A Nonintegrated, Mimetic Approach
Produce A Greater Increase In Student Understanding Of Note
And Rest Values?

Jystad, Susan....................................................................
How Will The Absence Of Movement From The Music
Curriculum Affect Students’ Learning And Musicality?
 Will Listening To Music 3

WILL LISTENING TO MUSIC IN THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

ENHANCE THE PERCEPTION OF THE VISUAL ART EXPERIENCE
FOR STUDENTS?

By

MARY GAIL ANDERSON

A capstone submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Winona State

University

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of

Master of Science

Department of Education

December 2004
Anderson, Mary Gail (M.S., Education)
Will listening to music in the learning environment enhance the perception of the visual

art experience for students?

Capstone directed by Dr. Thomas Sherman

Abstract

There must be a way to inspire student creativity in the art classroom learning
environment which would enable students to reach into their thoughts and emotions

to produce genuine, unique art. If students are concentrating on their artwork, increased

enjoyment, good behavior and a sense of pride in work accomplished should follow.

Four fourth grade classrooms were selected for this project. Students in two of

the classrooms listened to their choice of music using individual cassette tape players

with headphones while working on their art project in art class. Students in the two other
classrooms did not listen to music during art class. After each art class, students

completed surveys as to their feelings of happiness or sadness when coming to art class,

how they enjoyed their art project, if they were able to concentrate on their work, if they

had good behavior or not, and if they had enjoyed art class that day.

The survey results showed that the two classes who listened to music enjoyed

their projects more, were able to concentrate on their work more, demonstrated about the

same behavior and enjoyed their art classes more than the two classes who did not listen

to music.

The significance of this study shows that to achieve a high level of enjoyment

and the maximum level of creativity from most students in art class, the opportunity to

listen to music should be provided.

 CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I Introduction........................................................................... 1
a. Need for the study................................................. 1
b. Statement of the problem...................................... 2
c. Purpose of the study............................................. 3
d. Statement of the hypotheses................................. 3
e. Definition of terms ............................................... 3
f. Limitations and delimitations of the study............. 4
II. Review of Related Literature................................................. 7

III. Methods and Procedures........................................................ 15

a. Overview.............................................................. 15
b. Design.................................................................. 15
c. Selection of subjects............................................ 16
d. Validity measures.................................................16
e. Reliability measures............................................. 17
f. Field procedures................................................... 17
g. Conclusion........................................................... 17

IV. Results and Discussion.......................................................... 18

a. Introduction........................................................... 18
b. Procedures............................................................. 18
c. Variables............................................................... 19
d. Hypothesis Testing.................................................20

V. Summary and Conclusion...................................................... 21

a. Introduction...................................................................... 21
b. Summary of results.......................................................... 21
c. Conclusions.......................................................................21
d. Recommendations........................................................... 21

VI. References.................................................................................. 23
Appendices....................................................................................... 24
Appendix A........................................................................... 24
Appendix B........................................................................... 25
Appendix C............................................................................ 26
Appendix D............................................................................ 27
Appendix E............................................................................ 28
Appendix F.............................................................................29
Appendix G............................................................................30
Appendix H............................................................................ 31
Appendix I............................................................................ 32
Appendix J............................................................................. 33
 Will listening to music in the learning environment enhance the perception of the visual

art experience for students?

CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Need for the Study:

W. H. Kilpatrick made the statement that art education teachers today believe that

there is creative ability in all children and that creative ability is not reserved for a gifted

minority of learners. W. H. Kilpatrick made that statement in 1935, and yet today many

educators would agree. Children must discover their creative ability within themselves.

Art educators strive to create an atmosphere of high expectations in learning,

freedom for artistic thought, feeling and expression, success in using skills acquired, and

pride in completing a project with work well done. The best educators strive for this

environment for their students to learn and create to his/her potential.

Artistic expression comes from the thoughts and feelings of its author. Reactions

to thoughts and feelings from individual experiences are fundamental to creating sincere

art. “A good teacher creates situations that call on the child’s imagination, vision, and

memory, any of which may function in an experiential sense” (Children and Their Art,

Gaitskell, Hurwitz, p.6).

There is a need in the art classroom to achieve the environment that takes the

student to the place where he/she is free to experience inner thoughts, feelings and

expression without interference. Art results from self-expression involving emotions and

intellect. Students need an environment that will allow them to find their “inner self”.
 Will Listening To Music 2

Statement of the Problem:

Time constraints and lack of concentration decrease the productivity and

ingenuity of student creations and, therefore, pride in what they have accomplished.

While sharing ideas and talking about each other’s talents has always been acceptable

and encouraged in the classroom it may have disrupted the student’s individual train of

thought. Some discussions get disagreeable, loud or both giving students negative

attention. There is a more appropriate time for students to share ideas other than during

their work time. There must be a way to inspire student creativity by reaching into their

thoughts and emotions without distractions to produce genuine, unique art. Better

behavior and pride in their accomplishments will follow.

An art education specialists’ solution needs to work quickly within the time

frame of one class period. Forty minutes per class each week is not much when

considering the time required to hand out needed materials and clean up at the end of the

class. A student may be just “getting into” a project when art class is over and it is time

to clean up.

Time in class needs to be used efficiently for menial tasks, with adequate time left

for students to reach, mentally and emotionally, the intimate place inside themselves

where they are free to explore their unique visions.

The answer to the art room dilemma should not be punishment, because an

atmosphere of creative freedom to move around the room to get needed materials, ask

questions, make suggestions to one another, or compliment each other’s work is

encouraged.
 Will Listening To Music 3

Purpose of the Study:

Visual arts is an important part of a brain-based education. It can enhance

cognition, emotional expression, perception, cultural awareness, and aesthetics; it can

play a significant role in the learning process (Jensen, 2001, p.49). Art class should be an

enjoyable outlet for students to free their imagination and explore the possibilities of

visual art. The purpose of this study was to achieve an atmosphere where this can be

accomplished.

In looking through books and articles, an anticipated prediction is that students

with the privilege of listening to music during class will have higher productivity,

creativity, enjoyment and pride in their work with less disciplinary problems in art.

Statement of the Hypotheses:

Students in classrooms with music played in the background will display better

attitudes, concentrate more on assignments and display fewer behavior problems than

students in classrooms without music.

Definition of Terms:

To clarify any ambiguity of terms, these definitions are given.

1. Enjoy: To have or experience with joy

2. Happy: Having a feeling of great joy.

3. Enhance – To improve the quality or condition of.

4. Cassette Tape Player: A battery operated devise used to play audio tapes.

5. Visual Art: Visual art enables a child to develop ideas through imagery. The

Visual arts include design, art production, paper and canvas work, photography,

drawing, illustration, and painting. (Jensen, 2001, p. 49)

6. Verbal Warning- The teacher or staff member asks the student to stop saying or
 Will Listening To Music 4

doing something considered to be unacceptable behavior.

7. Checks on the clipboard: This is a system for tracking bad behavior in students.

0ne check given for bad behavior is a warning.

The second check consequence requires a time-out for the student.

The third check consequence requires the student to lose a privilege.

The fourth check consequence requires that the student calls the parents.

The fifth check consequence requires that the student meets with the

principal.

The sixth check consequence requires the student to meet with parents,

teacher, and principal.

8. Self-Esteem: Undue pride in one-self (Webster’s Dictionary, 1988).

9. Delight: To give great joy or pleasure (Webster’s Dictionary, 1988).

10. Aesthetic: Sensitive to art and beauty (Webster’s Dictionary, 1988).

Limitations and Delimitations of the Study:

All of the students in this study were fourth grade students at the Kenyon-

Wanamingo Elementary School in the 2003-2004 school year. They all have the same art

teacher with the same expectations, rules, projects and assignments. Art class is forty

minutes in length, one day per week for all students, so time is limited for everyone. Of

the two classes that listened to music, one came to Art from 1:20 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.,

and the other came from 2:05 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. The two classes that did not listen to

music met at the same times but on different days. The number of students in each class,

between seventeen and twenty students, is approximately the same.

 Will Listening To Music 5

The factors differ in these students. There are diverse levels of appreciation and

ability in art and music for these students. Some students come from affluent homes

while others are living near the poverty level; some students are needy academically,

some emotionally. There are students from single parent homes, and students from two-

parent homes. A significant factor in this study is the level of exposure to music and art

of all kinds within the students’ families.

Mrs. Kyllo, one of the classroom teachers whose class of students participated in

this program, regularly played background music during each school day, which was

unknown to the researcher at the time of this study. It is not known if this factor made a

significant change in the findings as Mrs. Kyllo’s class was among the groups of this

study that listened to music.

Some frustration occurred for the students who listened to music during art class

including the cassette tape player not working properly, or having an audio tape of poor

quality. Also, some students chose audio tapes, they later realized they did not enjoy.

The rule in the room was that each student could only choose one cassette tape to listen to

during the class period, so they needed to choose wisely. Some students were opposed to

listening to any music, and therefore were asked to wear the headphones with the volume

turned low or “off” if they preferred. These negative feelings and frustrations were

evident by the answers on the surveys students completed.

The researcher discovered difficulty in conversing with the students while they

were wearing their headphones. To get the attention of the class, the lights were turned

“on” and “off” several times.

 Will Listening To Music 6

The cost involved in this study could also be considered a limitation. The total

cost for the cassette tape players, the batteries, and the audiocassettes accumulated to

$183.06. The worn out and misused cassette tape players, as well as batteries, need to be

replaced making the privilege of listening to music while making art quite costly.

Students are fortunate to have forty minutes of art class per week in these times of

budgetary cuts in schools, but when considering adequate time for complete classroom

instruction by the teacher, preparation and set up for the project, student work, clean up,

and survey completion, it was not enough. The students need more time to look deep

within themselves to find their sincere, genuine feelings.

Certain projects in art would not work well with listening to music on cassette

tape players, for example, making the set for a holiday program. When the project

requires moving around often, or conversing with other people, the cassette tape player is

more of a nuisance. Working with clay is very messy, especially when hands are slick

with mud. Therefore, a cassette tape player may not be appropriate for use.
 CHAPTER TWO
Review of Related Literature:

Creativity

Every human being is a unique individual with unique thoughts, emotions,

physical and mental abilities and past experiences. Creativity comes from deep within

one self producing something just as unique as the person from which it originates. Art

education has everything to do with creativity. Each work of art has an author, the

creator, who put their heart and soul into their composition. Enjoyment is not only for

the author, but also for any audience who appreciates the art before them.

Creativity is a cognitive process that leads to new or improved products, performances, or

paradigms. It is a quality of thought that allows an individual to generate many ideas, invent
new ideas, or recombine existing ideas in a novel fashion (Gallagher & Gallagher, 1994).
Creativity is the ability to go beyond the given to generate novel and interesting ideas
(Sternberg, 1996) or to produce something apart from the ordinary: something remarkable
and something new (Feldman, Csikszentmihalyi, & Gardner 1994). This is an important trait for
achievement in all fields, however, the creative process is a trait that does not easily lend itself to
measurement. Although standardized creativity tests may be able to identify students with
creative capabilities such as the ability to generate many ideas or many different kinds of ideas,
such measures cannot predict an individual’s eventual creative achievement (Davis, 1997). The
best predictor of future achievement, especially creative achievement, is past achievement
(Davis, 1997; Sternberg, 1996). Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that past performance be
included within identification processes (Andrew P. Johnson, 2002, p.48-49)

The creative impulse, a highly personal urge, requires the memory of the past, the willingness to
try and test new ideas and evaluation. Working with hands allows each of us to be creative in a
way that can show quick and concrete results. We value what we create more than what others
create. Mastery can lead to greater self-confidence. (Terr, 1999; Jensen 2001, p.87)

Art educators challenge their students to be spontaneous and natural, to abandon

the familiar for the mysterious and puzzling. Evaluation of creativity is difficult to

measure since art is a personal expression in visual form.

Theories of Music and Art

Certainly at the beginning of time when humans first roamed the earth, man heard

the sounds of wind, lapping of water on the shore, footsteps, the rhythm of breathing,
 Will Listening To Music 8
throaty noises coming from man and beast. Somehow these sounds and rhythms

evolved into music pleasant to the ear. At the same time, these primitive humans looked

for food and shelter. They needed to be aware of their surroundings for survival. The

visual images of the world around them, along with the need to communicate became the

birth of music and art.

A million years ago when man’s ancestors stood upright in Africa (and began the whole
adventure of making) the worlds of art, music and language were perhaps one thing. The mark
made, the sound uttered or sung, even the step danced, were intimately linked. The history of this
unity is lost although, as far as writing goes, we can piece together the development from drawing
to script. The frequent liaisons, flirtations, affairs and marriages that are attempted between word
and music and between those and the visual image celebrate that imagined past of perfect union.
(Tom Phillips, 1997, p. 120)

The theory that music enhances creativity has been tested and confirmed by

researchers. They have found that music inspires moods, thoughts and emotions that

produce new, innovative methods to generate art. Also, correlations have been found

between rhythms in music that the artist heard, and the patterns the artists placed on their

artwork. Students that have studied music have had higher scores on standardized

creativity tests. Researchers have also found the student’s artwork to have been

substantially influenced by the music they heard while creating their art.

Many researchers have reported that creativity is enhanced by music. For instance, one study
found that a year of music instruction significantly increased creativity (Wolf, 1979). The control
class received no musical education, and the music group received 30 minutes a day for one year.
Students were tested on the Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survey and the Torrance Tests of Creativity.
This study suggests the value of long-term music programs versus a one-time hit-or miss approach
(Jensen, 2001, p. 28).

Music and art lend themselves to several types of correlation As an indirect correlation, a
background of music is often valuable to children while they are drawing, painting, or working in
three dimensions. The music appears to influence the children’s visual output in a subtle fashion.
The teacher may arrange direct correlations between music and art for children at any level in the
elementary school. Music, with a pronounced rhythmic beat and melodic line may be employed
as a basis for nonobjective patterns. “Classical” selections are usually preferable to jazz because
the latter is generally too monotonous for painting. The following are well-known and well-loved
examples of musical selections suitable for elementary-school children:
J. S. Bach – “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 1
The Wise Virgins (ballet, arr. Walton)
Beethoven – Overtures: Leonore, No. 3
Egmont
The Consecration of the House
Bizet – L’Arlesienne, Suites 1 and 2
 Will Listening To Music 9
Borodin – Prince Igor: “Polovtsian Dances”
Khachaturian – Gayne Ballet, Suite No. 1
Lalo – Symphonie Espagnole
Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 1 to 7
Mephisto Waltzes
Rossini – Overatures: The Barber of Seville
William Tell
Semiramide
Von Suppe – Overtures: Light Cavalry
Poet and Peasant
(Gaitskell, Hurwitz, 1970, p. 386, 387)
.

It is suggested that before difficult endeavors, teachers use expressive and

innovative music to stimulate ideas in students. Another study found that classical

music enhances visual imagery skills (McKinney & Tims, 1995). At the elementary

level, background music such as John Cage (Three Constructions), Duke Ellington

(The Ellington Suites) and Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique) is recommended.

(Jensen, 2001, p.28)

Music activates and develop the areas most involved in our brains that facilitate

mood, social skills, motivational development, cultural awareness, self –discipline and

personal management, and aesthetic appreciation (Jensen, 2001, p. 29).

Moods are personality swings that can elicit certain visual images and sounds

from an individual. It is said that if someone is angry, they may “see red”, or when

sadness overcomes them, they may, “sing the blues”. In ways such as these, music and

art are entwined in our souls.

Famous Artists Who Listened to Music While Creating Their Art

Written materials about famous artists give us an understanding of how they used

music to help create their artwork. Famous artists that used background music while

creating art give us insight as to what may also work for students. Maurice Sendak

illustrated books that he wrote while listening to music.

 Will Listening To Music 10

A sort of graphic calisthenics done to limber the imagination, these fantasy sketches were
composed as Sendak listened to various pieces of classical music. Some highly polished, others
perfunctory in execution, they comprise a kind of visual free association process, through which
the artist liberated both hand and head for the more personal works to come during his most
productive decade: the sixties. (Lanes, 1980, p.63)

The mood of a musical composition can place a mind in a far away land where

bodies lie on the beaches as the tropical breezes blow, or energize the mind and body to

dance a jig. Visual artists that work to the sound of music playing, conjure up mental

pictures that influence the outcome of the final product. This is not a negative aspect of

listening to music while creating visual art, rather it is a way to delve deeper into the soul

to find genuine thoughts and emotions.

Surely it is relevant that Sendak always creates his pictures with music in the background. “More
often than not,” he says, “my instinctive choice of composer or musical form for the day has the
galvanizing effect of making me conscious of my direction. I find something uncanny in the way
a musical phrase, a sensuous vocal line, or a patch of Wagnerian color will clarify an entire
approach or style for a new work. A favorite activity of mine is sitting in front of the record
player as though possessed of drawing. Sometimes the pictures that result are merely
choreographed episodes, imagined figures dancing imagined ballets. But more interesting and
useful for my work are the childhood fantasies reactivated by the music and explored
uninhibitedly by my pen.” (Lanes, 1980, p.120, 121).

Artists use different approaches to jump-start the flow of their creative juices.

Music is not the only way to do this, but it is quite effective as one alternative.
“My intention isn’t to prove that music is the sole enlivening force behind the creation of pictures
for children,” the artist says a bit sheepishly, knowing that he is often carried away by his
enthusiasms. “But music is the impulse that most stimulates my own work and I eagerly look for
its presence in the work of the picture-book artist I most respect.”
(Lanes, 1980, p. 121)

Since the beginning of time language, music and art have gone hand- in- hand.

The senses of hearing, seeing and speaking communicate feelings and awareness of one’s

surroundings. Maurice Sendak listens to music while making art, and therefore, conveys

his thoughts and feelings in his illustrations.

Looking critically at his own career, he feels that “the musical analogy is no-where more apparent
than in my earliest illustrations for Ruth Krauss’s books. Her lovely and original poetry has a
flexibility that allowed me the maximum space to execute my fantasy variations on a Kraussian
theme, and the last page from I’ll Be you and You Be Me is probably the simplest expression of
 Will Listening To Music 11
my devotion to music. When this kind of drawing works, I feel like a magician because I am
creating the air for a writer” (Lanes, 1980, p. 124).

Creativity comes on a deeply personal level for each individual. Researchers

have studied the affects of classical music listening while art is being made, to find that it

seems to have some correlation to creativity. The musical works of Mozart are thought to

be especially relevant to enhance certain spatial skills (Jensen,2001, p.25)

While he worked on the illustrations for Outside Over There, Sendak listened exclusively to the
music of Mozart. As he explains,” I wanted only the sound of Mozart for this book. And I made
my own make-believe connections: “This is Grimm country; this is the eighteenth century;
Mozart died in 1791’ it’s proper the music should be only Mozart. ’Since I am running the show, I
can do things any way I like” (Lanes, 1980, p. 229).

Young children are more apt to be uninhibited than adults. Children can play in a

world of fantasy without feeling that their thoughts and behaviors are inappropriate or

wrong. Few grown-ups have been fortunate enough to keep their childhood imaginations

intact into adulthood. Maurice Sendak appears to be one of the few.

In Sendak’s fantasy pages done to pieces of music, the same themes and motifs can be found-
flying and falling figures, characters eating and being eaten, windows serving as passageways to
other realms, and babies wailing, nursing, devouring their mothers or being carried off. These
drawings, some perfunctory in execution, others of high polish and charm, form the psychic raw
material of Sendak’s imaginative world (Lanes, 1980, p. 248).

Paul Klee listened to music as he created visual art. These words were written in

1915, an early critique of Paul Klee by Theodor Daubler, admirer of Klee.

Paul Klee is an extremely distinguished musician, a fact also revealed quite

clearly in his painting. (Duchting, 1997, p. 11)

Artists such as Van Gogh, Delacroix, Fantin-Latour, and Gauguin also listened to

music while creating art.

Clearly, painters listened to music with ears attuned to their own pictorial needs. Given their
orientation, it is surprising that they were drawn to music irrespective of the composer’s
ideological affiliation (program or absolute music). This occurred despite considerable technical
knowledge about music by artists. Painters who upheld a belief in music as abstract could find it
embodied in the work of Berlioz, and Wagner (Van Gogh’s two favorites). Fantin – Latour’s
tastes encompassed the very divergent styles of Schumann, Brahms, Berlioz, and Wagner, while
Delacroix admired Mozart, Chopin, and Rossini (and detested Berlioz). Gauguin surprisingly
preferred the precision of Handel (Morton, Schmunk, 2000, p. 11).
 Will Listening To Music 12

Emotions and Music

Most people can relate to a time in their lives when a song forces them to recall

the memory of an important historical or personal event. A romantic break-up, an

assassination of a famous person, death of a loved one, or, at the happier end of the

spectrum, new love, new birth, success, can all be reasons to conjure up songs or tunes

that had been tucked far back in the recesses of the mind.

Music can assist us in creating, identifying, and using emotional states to regulate our lives.
Musicians use music to communicate, and a good performance or song will communicate
emotions. We understand ourselves better when we can express ourselves through
alternative media like music. Music-making forces us to create, reflect, bare our souls, ponder,
react, and formulate in ways we have never done before. It’s a powerful language of
expression whether a student is playing or listening to it (Jensen, 2001, p.32).

Joy in the Arts

In the past, the arts have been thought of by many as being less important than

other major disciplines such as math, science, or reading. At Columbia University, Judith

Burton’s study of more than 2,000 children found that those in an arts curriculum were

far superior in creative thinking, self-concept, problem-solving, self expression, risk-

taking, and cooperation than those who were not (Jensen, 2001, p.5). The arts are a

valuable discipline worthy of study in the academic ranks.

The arts are unique in that they involve personal thoughts and expression,

creativity, and emotion, rather than rote memorization of facts, high-level testing, or

verbal skills. The arts offer the freedom to create and express without inhibition, or

delight in experiencing art created by others. The arts give one a feeling of great

happiness; joy..

Joy is not a term that is used much in the context of education, but if the arts are about
anything, they are about how they make you feel in their presence-when you know how to
read their form. The arts, when experienced in the fullness of our emotional life, are about
becoming alive (Eisner, 2002, p.84,85).
 Will Listening To Music 13

In summary, research indicates that, even as far back as a million years ago, art,

music, and language were “intimately linked” (Tom Phillips, 1997, p. 120). It is reported that

creativity is enhanced by music, and to stimulate ideas in students, teachers should

expose students to “expressive and innovative music”( McKinney & Tims, 1995).

Creativity is a cognitive process which leads individuals to generate many ideas,

invent new ideas, or recombine existing ideas in a novel fashion. Music can assist us in

creating, identifying and using emotional states, and therefore, by using music in this

way, art educators can use this method to enable students to reach into their thoughts and

emotions to produce genuine, unique art.

The creative process is a trait that does not easily lend itself to measurement.

Even if creativity could be measured, no one can predict when it will be generated by an

individual.
The beauty of arts is that they are both deep and wide in their benefits. They can improve
nearly everything that schools need today; self-esteem, health, inclusion, motivation,
attendance, grades, community involvement, and communication skills as the landmark
report Champions of Change has pointed out (Catterall et al., 1999; Fiske, 1999; Jensen,
2001, p.116)

The definition of “self-esteem” is, “undue pride in one-self” (Webster’s

Dictionary, 1988). Therefore, if creating art while listening to music results in self-

esteem, a sense of pride in work accomplished should follow.

The world at large is a potential source of delight and a rich source of meaning if

one views it within an aesthetic frame of reference (Eisner, 2002, p.445). The word

“delight” is defined as “to give great joy or pleasure” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1988) and,

“aesthetic” is defined as “sensitive to art and beauty” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1988). It is

then appropriate to say that looking at all the world and everything in it can give us joy or

happiness when viewing it through the “arts” of art, music, and language.
 Will Listening To Music 14
This study comes together nicely through the research sited. Music inspired

student creativity in the art classroom, enabled the students to concentrate enough to

reach into their thoughts and emotions to produce genuine, unique art, and resulted in

good behavior and a sense of pride in work accomplished

 CHAPTER THREE

Methods and Procedures:

Overview:

Four fourth grade classrooms were selected for this study. Each new lesson was

introduced, followed by question and answer time. When the students were ready to

begin working on their project, two of the classes were given the opportunity to listen to

music on individual cassette tape players. The other two classes did not listen to music

while working on their project. The students gave feedback after each class by

completing a survey. (Appendix A) Each survey revealed what the students thought

about their feelings, their thoughts about their art project, level of concentration on their

work, classroom behavior and their level of enjoyment in art class that day.

This study was qualitative as observation and documented data from the students

in the classroom were used to determine the merit of listening to music while creating

visual art. The methods to collect data for this report were student survey, teacher

checklist, and field notes(Appendix B and C).

Design:

Most students enjoyed art class. They had more freedom to create, move around

the room to get needed supplies and converse with their peers while working. The

atmosphere was less structured than other classes attended during the school day. This

environment worked well, but this researcher felt the need for more. The goal was to

achieve a high level of enjoyment and the maximum level of creativity from most

students in art class. Most of all, the students needed to know the satisfaction
 Will Listening To Music 16
of producing their own genuine creation and the pride of accomplishing something

remarkable and new in art class.

This action research project will be a deciding factor in answering the question,

“Will listening to music in the learning environment enhance the perception of the visual

art experience for students?”

Selection of subjects:

The 2003-2004 fourth grade at Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools consisted of

four classrooms of students. Each classroom had a similar number of students. Two of

the four classes had art class at 1:20 p.m. on different days of the week, and the other two

had art class at 2:05 p.m. on different days of the week. Of the two groups that met at

1:20 p.m., one had the opportunity to listen to music in art, the two groups that met at

2:05 p.m., one had the opportunity to listen to music. This was the set up for one quarter

of the scheduled school year. The study was reversed so that the classes that did not

listen to music had the opportunity to listen to music the following quarter of the school

year. The classes that did listen to music did not have the opportunity to listen to music.

Validity Measures:

The students answered a survey of specific questions about themselves at the end

of each art class regarding the following areas: feelings, fun, concentration, behavior and

enjoyment. Most questions were answered by “yes” or “no”. Two of the

questions had multiple choice answers so that choosing one answered the question

explicitly. They were asked to be very honest with their answers.

The researcher totaled the “yes”, “no”, and multiple choice answers for the

questions asked and compiled the answers on the teacher checklist to get an accurate

display of the student responses.

 Will Listening To Music 17
Reliability Measures:

This study was not reliable, although if repeated, some of the same outcomes or

patterns would most likely occur. Using new students, larger or smaller class sizes,

different projects, changed class times, new cassette tape players or DVD players for the

same study would have unpredictable research findings.

Field procedures:

It was determined that fourth grade students would be used in this study because

of their age and maturity, ability to take their art seriously and ability to successfully use

the cassette tape players. The four classrooms could be equally divided into two groups,

control and experimental.

The time frame was determined by the school year calendar which divided the

school year into four equal sections of which two quarters were to be used for this study.

However, the last quarter of the school year, to be used for the second part of this study,

was scheduled with field trips, lyceums, standardized testing, and many other conflicts

making it a poor time to conduct a study.

Students documented their answers on surveys after each art class. All surveys

were collected, recorded, totaled and compiled on the teacher checklist. The information

was then studied and compared for accurate results.

Conclusion:

The researcher of this study designed it with the question, will listening to music

in the learning environment enhance the perception of the visual art experience for

students? in mind. The significance of this study is that to achieve a high level of

enjoyment and the maximum level of creativity from most students in art class, the

opportunity to listen to music should be provided.

 CHAPTER FOUR

Results and Discussion

The results of this study were desired and expected. The survey results showed

that most students who participated in this study did reveal a perceived feeling of

enjoyment, their projects were fun, and they had better concentration when given the

opportunity to listen to music while working on projects in art class compared with the

students who did not listen to music.

Procedures:
Data was collected from surveys completed by fourth grade students in art class

and charted on the teacher checklist. The information gathered on these checklists was

totaled and compiled to display the accurate results from the surveys. The two classes

that listened to music were Mr. Anderson’s class and Mrs. Kyllo’s class. The classes

were similar in size to Mrs. Nelson’s class and Mrs. Rapp’s class who did not listen to

music during art class.

The first question asked how the students were feeling when they came to art

class. The answer choices were, Happy, Sad, Somewhere-In-Between, No Answer

Given. From the classes that listened to music, 75% of the students answered Happy

compared to 67% from the non-music classes.(Appendix D) The last question on the

survey asked the students if they enjoyed art class that day. The classes that listened to

music reported 97% enjoyed art that day, compared to 81% from the classes that did not
listen to music.(Appendix I) The researcher was able to compare Question 1 with

Question 6 because the word, “Happy” and the word “Enjoy” have the same meaning.

In comparing the two, the class that listened to music went from 75% Happy to 97%

Enjoyed Art Class, an increase of 22% in joy from the beginning of class. The class that

did not listen to music reported 67% were Happy when they came to class and 81%

enjoyed art class that day. Their joy increased 14% (Appendix J).
 Will Listening To Music 19

The second question asked the students if their art project was fun to work on

that day. 93% of the students in the classes that listened to music replied, “yes”, while

only 77% of the students in the no music group responded with “yes”. (Appendix E)

Question three asked the students if they were able to concentrate in art that day.

Approximately 91% of the students that listened to music said, “yes”, while only 73% of

the (non music) students replied with “yes” (Appendix F).

Questions four and five asked the students if they had been warned about their

behavior, and if they had received a check on the clipboard that day. Both classes of

students listening to music and the students that did not listen to music answered the

same. This showed that listening to music or not listening to music did not influence the

behaviors of the students on those days. (Appendix G and H)

In conclusion, the classes of students that listened to music became happier or

enjoyed art more during their time in art class, thought their projects were fun to work on,

and were able to concentrate on their work more. Surprisingly, the behaviors were about

the same in both the classes listening to music and the classes that were not.

Variables:
Student attitudes on the days they came to art could have been a factor in how

they answered questions on the survey. They could have also copied what their seat

neighbor or friends put as answers on their survey. If students were not honest with their

answers, or just chose an answer without reading the question, the results may have been

different. Some students had little time to complete their surveys, and consequently some

answers were left blank. The answers left blank were put into a “No Answer Given”

category, but if the student had actually included their answer, it may have swayed the

results one way or another.

The results of this survey may have been different if the students were required to

listen to a certain type of music, such as classical, instead of a variety of music styles

which they could choose themselves.

 Will Listening To Music 20

Hypothesis Testing:
Student surveys were collected for data. This data was collected, charted and

graphed.
 CHAPTER FIVE

Summary and Conclusion

Listening to music should be an available choice for students in art class. Music

enhances creativity, allowing people to invent new, original ideas, or recombine existing

ideas. Teachers should use “expressive and innovative music” to arouse ideas in

students.

Summary of Results:
The results of this study show that music does enhance the student’s perception of
the visual art experience. The students that listened to music perceived art projects as

more fun, they were able to concentrate more on their artwork, and they enjoyed art class

more. The student behavior did not show change between the group that listened to

music, and the group that did not.

Conclusions:
The researcher feels this study was sound and effective. The study was backed
by research from notable scientists and educators. The reliability measure would change

if new students, projects, or class times were dissimilar to this study.

Recommendations:
More schedule planning would be useful if this study were to be conducted again

at a later date. The final quarter of the school year had too many conflicts to proceed

with a study of this kind; the first two quarters of the school year would be better.

The portion of the study concerning student behavior did not show anticipated

results. This may have been due to leniency on the part of the art teacher. In the next

attempt at repeating this study the teacher will give more thought to strengthening the

discipline in the art room. More checks on the clipboard could have been given for

excessive noise and disruptions during class.

 Will Listening To Music 22
The researcher would also like to explore the possibility of using classical

music to enhance creative thinking in the next study. Would classical music flavor the

students’ art in a unique way?

After reading the following paragraphs, the prospect of studying the relationship

between the vibrations of sound waves (music) and the vibrations of light waves (color)

would be very interesting to research in the classroom environment.

The spectrum, on the other hand, is clearly defined by the noted scientist, Dr Elisha Gray, in
his book, Natures Miracles:
In the musical scale each note differs from the other in the matter of pitch; and pitch, as we have
seen, is the rate of vibration per second. Colors differ in pitch sunlight to come into a dark room
through a small aperture and let it fall on a white screen, there will appear a round spot of white
light that is an image of the sun. If now we intercept the beam of light with a prism placed
with the image downward, there will appear on the screen a band of colors, one above the other.
They will appear in the following order, beginning at the bottom: Red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, indigo, violet and the whole is called the solar spectrum.

The spectrum, therefore, suggests the musical scale (Belmont, 1944, p.224, 225).

The menial tasks of setting up projects, and cleaning up take a great deal of time

away from the creative work of the students. A new timesaving way of performing these

tasks is an area that can be studied more for the next time.
 CHAPTER SIX

References

Belmont, I. (1944). The modern dilemma in art: the reflections of a color-music

painter. New York: Harbinger House.

Davis, G. (1997). Handbook of gifted education. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.

Duchting, H. (1997). Painting and music. New York: Prestel.

Feldman, D., Csikszentmihalyi, & Gardner, H. (1994). Changing the

world: a study of creativity. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Gaitskell, C., & Hurwitz, A. (1970). Children and their art. 2nd ed.
New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta: Harcourt, Brace
& World, Inc.

Gallagher, J., & Gallagher, S. (1994). Teaching the gifted child.

4th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Jensen, E. (2001). Arts with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA:

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Johnson, A. (2002). A short guide to action research. Boston: Allyn and

Bacon.

Lanes, S. (1980). The art of maurice sendak. New York: Harry N. Abrams,
Inc..

Morton, M., & Schmunk, P. (2000). The arts entwined: music and painting
in the nineteenth century. New York: Garland Publishing,
Inc.

Phillips, T. (1997). Music in art. New York: Prestel

Sternberg, R. (1996). Successful intelligence: how practical and

creative intelligence determine success in life. New York:
Plume.

Weiss, S. (2004). An art-rich education helps prepare students for a

changing world. The Arts in Education, 5(1).
 Appendix A

Example of Student Survey

Classroom Teacher – Mr. Anderson

Day 1 1:20 – 2:00

Name_______________________________________

Date_________________________________________

Circle your answer

1. I feel Happy Sad Somewhere in-between

today.

2. My art project was fun to work on today Yes

No

3. I was able to concentrate on my work today. Yes

No

4. I was warned about my behavior today Yes No

5 I received a check on the clipboard today. Yes No.

6. I enjoyed art class today. Yes No

 Will Listening To Music 25

Appendix B

Example of Teacher Checklist 1

 Will Listening To Music 26

Appendix C

Example of Teacher Checklist 2

 Will Listening To Music 27

Appendix D

Graph 1

How were students feeling when they

came to art class?
Mrs. Nelson’s class
Mr. Anderson’s class
Mrs. Rapp’s class
Mrs. Kyllo’s class
Music No Music
80 75
80
70 67
70
60
60
50
50
40
40
30
18 30 22
20
20
10 5 8
2 10 3
0
0
Happy Sad Somewhere- No Answer
In- Between Given Happy Sad Somewhere - No Answer
In -Between Given
11
 Will Listening To Music 28

Appendix E

Graph 2

Question 2. My art project was fun to

work on today. . .
Mrs. Nelson’s class
Mr. Anderson’s class
Mrs. Kyllo’s class Mrs. Rapp’s class

Music No Music

100 93 100
90 90
77
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30 22
20 20
10 1 5 1 10 1
0 0
0 0
Yes Yes/No No No Answer Yes Yes/No No No Answer
12
Given Given
 Will Listening To Music 29

Appendix F

Graph 3

Question 3. I was able to concentrate

on my work today. . .
Mrs. Nelson’s class
Mr. Anderson’s class
Mrs. Rapp’s class
Mrs. Kyllo’s class
Music No Music
100 91 100
90 90
80 80 73
70 70
60 60
50 50
40
40 26
30
30
20
20
6 10 1 0
10 0 1 2
0
0
Yes Yes/No No No Answer
Yes Yes/No No No Answer Given
13
Given
 Will Listening To Music 30

Appendix G

Graph 4

Question 4. I was warned about my

behavior today. . .
Mrs. Nelson’s class
Mr. Anderson’s class
Mrs. Rapp’s class
Mrs. Kyllo’s class
Music No Music
100 95 100 95
90 90
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 4 0 0 1 10 4 0 1
0 0
Yes Yes/No No No Answer Yes Yes/No No No Answer
Given 14Given
 Will Listening To Music 31

Appendix H

Graph 5

Question 5. I received a check on the

clipboard today. . .
Mrs. Nelson’s class
Mr. Anderson’s class
Mrs. Rapp’s class
Mrs. Kyllo’s class
Music No Music
100 96 98
100
90 90
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 2 0 0 2 10 2 0 0
0 0
Yes Yes/No No No Answer Yes Yes/No No No Answer
Given Given
15
 Will Listening To Music 32

Appendix I

Graph 6

Question 6. I enjoyed art class today. . .

Mr. Anderson’s class Mrs. Nelson’s class

Mrs. Kyllo’s class Mrs. Rapp’s class

Music No Music
100 97
100
90 90 81
80 80
70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 16
20
10 0 0 2 1 10 2 1
0 0
Yes Yes/No No No Answer Yes Yes/No No No Answer
Given Given
16
 Will Listening To Music 33

Appendix J

Graph 7

How were students feeling “when they

came to art class that day” compared
with “how they enjoyed art class that
day.”
Mrs. Nelson’s class
Mr. Anderson’s class Mrs. Rapp’s class
Mrs. Kyllo’s class
Music No Music
100 97 100
90 90 81
80 74 80
Enjoyment 67
70 70 Enjoyment
60 /Happiness 60 /Happiness
50 rose 23 % 50 rose 14 %
40
from when they from when they
40
arrived at class arrived at class
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
Happy Enjoyed Happy when Enjoyed art
when art class they came to class that
they that day art class day
came to 18
art class
Will Teaching Music
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Will Teaching Music
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Will Teaching Music
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 Will Teaching Music
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Inc.
 Will Teaching Music xl

t
Will Teaching Music xli
 Will Teaching Music xlii

WILL TEACHING MUSIC COMPOSITION THROUGH AN INTEGRATED,

TRANSFORMATIVE APPROACH OR A NONINTEGRATED, MIMETIC

APPROACH PRODUCE A GREATER INCREASE IN STUDENT

UNDERSTANDING OF NOTE AND REST VALUES?

by

NANCY ELAINE JOHNSON

B.A., University of Minnesota, 1979

B.S., Mankato State University, 1979

A capstone submitted to the

Faculty of the Graduate School of Winona State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

Department of Education
 Will Teaching Musicxliii

December 2004
 This capstone entitled:

Will Teaching Music Composition through an Integrated, Transformative Approach

or a Nonintegrated, Mimetic Approach Produce a Greater Increase in

Student Understanding of Note and Rest Values?

written by Nancy Elaine Johnson

has been approved for the Winona State University Department of Education by

Anne Simon Dan Vrieze

Ann Bordonaro, Resource Person Margaret Lundquist, Faculty Advisor

Date
Dr. Thomas Sherman, Faculty Advisor

The final copy of the capstone has been examined by the signatories,

and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards

of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline.

 Will Teaching Music xlv

Johnson, Nancy Elaine (M.S., Education)

Will Teaching Music Composition through an Integrated, Transformative Approach

or a Nonintegrated, Mimetic Approach Produce a Greater Increase in Student

Understanding of Note and Rest Values?

Capstone directed by Dr. Thomas Sherman

Abstract

Students were not retaining a basic music vocabulary, in particular, note and

rest names and values. This resulted in the students’ inability to create quality

musical compositions independently. The purpose of this study was to compare

student understanding of note and rest values, after implementing a new strategy for

teaching music composition at the third grade level, with the performance of the

previous year’s third grade students. All students completed tests on their knowledge

of note and rest names and values, and their ability to apply this knowledge to

unfamiliar music, during September and May of the corresponding school year.

Students completed two composition projects over a three-month period in six

mixed gender classes varying in size from twenty-three to twenty-five students. The

two projects varied in the concepts taught and the type of organizational setting.

The teacher used a nonintegrated, mimetic approach during the first year.

Composition projects had strict limitations relating to the final product and were

unrelated to concurrent performing and listening experiences. Instruction also

included drill and rote learning.

 Will Teaching Musicxlvi

The subsequent year, the teacher implemented an integrated, transformative

approach. In this approach, the concepts the compositions were based upon were first

experienced through performance and listening. Criteria for the compositions were as

unrestrictive as possible, allowing for greater creativity and a problem-solving

approach. Peer interaction replaced drill of note and rest names.

Results from the study showed a slightly higher post-test median and mean

score for the students taught using the integrated, transformative approach. This

group also had more students whose post-test scores were in the highest quartile. The

differences were, however, small enough to be statistically insignificant. In contrast

to this, the data showed that student post-test scores in the control group increased by

a greater percentage than the scores of students in the experimental group, even when

compared to students whose pre-test scores were from the same quartile.
 Will Teaching Musicxlvii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my family and acknowledge the support given and the sacrifices

made on my behalf to allow me to complete this Capstone project.

Thank you to Ann Bordonaro, my outside resource person, for being willing to give

freely of her time and advice.

I would also like to acknowledge the Winona West II Learning Community

Facilitators, Dr. Tom Sherman and Margaret Lundquist, as well as the members of the

learning community, for their part in making this a challenging, inspiring, and yet,

enjoyable experience.
 Will Teaching Music
xlviii

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Need for the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Statement of the Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Definition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Independent Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Dependent Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Control Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Moderator Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Limitations and Delimitations of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Creative Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Multiple Modalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Constructivism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Frameworks and the Dimensions of Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Teaching for Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Teaching for Musical Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

 Will Teaching Musicxlix

III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Research Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Selection of Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Instruments/Measuring Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Validity Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Reliability Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Field Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Hypothesis Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Summary of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

APPENDIX A: Student Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

APPENDIX B: Data Collection Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

APPENDIX C: Notes & Rests Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

APPENDIX D: Musical Me Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

 Will Teaching Music l

APPENDIX E: Composition 3-1 Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

APPENDIX F: Composition Gr. 3 Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

 Will Teaching Music li

TABLES

Table

4.1 A Comparison of Score by Total Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

4.2 Percentages of Students per Achievement Quartile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4.3 Individual Score Gain or Loss by Section and Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.4 Percentage Gain/Loss for Students in the Lowest Quartile . . . . . . . . 27

4.5 Total Percentage Gain/Loss by Test Strand Quartiles . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4.6 t-Test Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

5.1 Percentage Gain or Loss in Mean Scores by Quartile . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

5.2 A Comparison of Student Achievement in the Highest Quartiles . . .36

5.3 Parent Music Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

 Will Teaching Music lii

FIGURES

Figure

4.1 A Comparison of Post-test Scores by Total Points Achieved . . . . . . 25

4.2 Percentage of Students per Achievement Quartile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

4.3 Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 1 . . . . . . . . . 29

4.4 Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 2 . . . . . . . . . 29

4.5 Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 3. . . . . . . . . .30

4.6 Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 4. . . . . . . . . .30

 Will Teaching Music

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Teaching is a rewarding, but complex vocation. Every day a myriad of

decisions must be made: what concepts to teach, which materials to use and how to

sequence them, how to determine students’ learning styles, what teaching strategies

meet students’ needs, when and how to assess, and how to make adjustments when a

method does not get the desired results. What guides one in making these decisions?

The focus of this study was the examination of current educational research on

effective teaching strategies for in-depth, conceptual learning. These research

findings guided the selection of new strategies for teaching music composition. The

researcher implemented and compared the newly selected strategies with past practice

strategies to determine which resulted in a greater increase in student understanding

of note and rest values.

Need for the Study

The examination of standardized test data is one common source of

information for establishing current levels of effective teaching. Unfortunately, data

for elementary music students does not exist at the present time. The National

Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered an arts assessment to

eighth graders in 1997. It was the first assessment of the arts in almost twenty years.

The results were difficult to interpret and even harder to compare with past data
 Will Teaching Music 2

because of the great time differential. Frustrations with the assessment included the

small sample size, the lack of music instruction within the schools for the majority of

the students at the tested grade level, and an under-representation of items in the

Creating and Performing categories of the test. Whatever the interpretation, the low

scores on the NAEP arts assessment pointed out the lack of opportunities for eighth

grade students to further their musical education, resulting in students without the

“skills and knowledge essential for meaningful participation in the cultural life of the

nation” (Sims, 2000, p. 45).

Statement of the Problem

Sims pointed out one reason for some of the disappointing results: It was

improbable that the tested students were exposed to a standards-based curriculum,

since the release of the National Standards for Music Education occurred in 1994,

just three years before the NAEP assessment. This standards document, in

combination with the accountability movement, was the impetus for arts education

reform across the nation. Minnesota arts educators became a part of this standards-

based education trend with the publication of the Minnesota Frameworks for Arts

Curriculum Strategies in 1995. The strategies aligned with the national music

standards completed by the National Committee for Standards in the Arts. While

control of curriculum remains at the local school district level, the publication of state

and national standards documents, and the now obsolete Minnesota graduation
 Will Teaching Music 3

standards, caused some positive changes in the scope and rigor of the music

curriculum. A change in curriculum, however, does not mean an achievement of

objectives. Students in Grades 2-4 in Kasson-Mantorville Independent School

District 204 were not retaining a basic music vocabulary, in particular, note and rest

names and an understanding of their values, and therefore were unable to

independently create quality musical compositions or consistently communicate an

understanding of musical concepts using appropriate music terminology. With the

district music curriculum already aligned, for the most part, with the national music

standards, this study pursued an investigation of teaching approaches and their

relationship to current research on how children learn.

Statement of the Hypothesis

Many possibilities presented themselves in the writings of Benjamin Bloom,

Howard Gardner, Eric Jensen, Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering, Eunice

Boardman, Maud Hickey, and Jackie Wiggins. These authors stressed the importance

of constructivist learning, teaching in context, integrating the study of concepts across

varying types of interactions, and helping children learn to think. This capstone

project focused on the use of an integrated, transformative approach as a means of

developing a deeper understanding of musical concepts when teaching music

composition. The hypothesis of this study was that an integrated, transformative

 Will Teaching Music 4

approach would produce a greater increase in student understanding of note and rest

values than a nonintegrated, mimetic approach.

Definition of Terms

Authentic Assessment: A method of evaluating student learning or

understanding that is based on reliable, live-event data; in music, this
often implies a demonstration, performance or composition.

Cognition: The process of knowing (perception, memory, judgment.)

Deep learning/understanding: Based on Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy, this

term implies learning that is far beyond rote naming and recall. Deep
learning allows the individual to analyze information, synthesize or
create new products, and evaluate and make choices based on past
learning. Deep learning results in better retention rates.

Integration: The study of a concept across the three types of musical

interactions—performing, listening, and creating.

Mimetic Approach: A teaching approach in which the teacher demonstrates

the desired outcome and the students reproduce it as closely as
possible. This approach relies on rote learning and leaves little room
for individual creativity.

Learning Modalities: The manner in which the brain processes experiences.

The type of sensory stimulation determines the mode. (Aural--sound;
Kinesthetic--movement; Tactile--touch; Visual--sight.)

Learning Style: An individual’s preferred mode of learning, based on their

strengths or types of intelligence.

Melodic Contour: The tonal shape of the melody as determined by the

pitches used.

NAEP: The National Assessment of Educational Progress; a U.S.

government agency administered under the National Center for
Education Statistics.
 Will Teaching Music 5

Overarching themes: The knowledge, skills, or habits of mind that are most
vital and recur without regard to particular topics or concepts.

Standards-based education: An education based on statements of what every

child should know and be able to do in each subject area.

Taxonomy: The science of classification; in this case, the classification of

thought processes.
Time Signature: The numbers at the beginning of a piece of music indicating
the meter (beats per measure) and the comparative value of each note
or rest.

Transformative Approach: A teaching approach in which the teacher serves

as a coach or facilitator by posing problems and creating challenges
that the students solve by using their own ideas and creativity.

Variables

Independent Variables

The independent variables in this study relate to changes in teaching strategy.

The researcher discontinued the drill of note names and values in the second year of

the study. Open-ended composition assignments, in which the students sought out

help from peers and the teacher to solve problems and complete the composition,

replaced drill and rote learning. Rather than assigning compositions as a solitary

activity at a convenient time in order to complete graduation standards, the teacher

taught all compositions in context and integrated them across the three types of

musical interaction (performing, listening, and creating) in the second year of the

study. While students could ask questions about compositions during year one, the

only meaningful assessment was the final grade. Many students in the control group
 Will Teaching Music 6

did not hear any other student’s composition. In-process listening and peer

evaluation were an integral part of the composition process in the second year of the

study. The last variable changed was going from strictly individual compositions

with rigid requirements in year one to the encouragement of peer input and fewer

restrictions during year two. This included group composition to explain processes

and begin the second assignment.

Dependent Variables

Dependent variables included the students’ ability to identify note and rest

names, and demonstrate an understanding of note and rest values through their ability

to recall the number of beats a note or rest would receive. Students also analyzed

which symbol in a group received the most beats. The final dependent variable

required the students to apply their knowledge to unfamiliar music by adding the

correct note or rest to incomplete measures and drawing bar lines at the points

indicated by the time signature and the given music.

Control Variables

The researcher conducted the study at Kasson-Mantorville Elementary School

in southeastern Minnesota during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. All

third grade students who attended the designated school for the entire year were

included in the study. While different groups of students participated each year, they
 Will Teaching Music 7

were comparable in terms of socio-economic status (mainly middle income), age

(third grade), number of students per classroom (23-25), and the total number of

students involved each year (135 and 136). The same teacher administered the same

test for the pre-test and post-test each year during September and May. All students

attended three 25-minute classes over the course of a five-day cycle, with one class

period providing access to computers and compositional software. The students

completed two compositions each year during the months of March, April, and May.

The researcher measured progress over the course of one school year.

Moderator Variables

Because no data was available to ascertain students of comparable musical

aptitude, the study included all students at the third grade level each year. This factor

increased the number of uncontrolled variables, possibly affecting the outcome of the

study. These variables included: possible differences in the average age of the

students in each group, the exact number of class periods students attended (because

of absences due to assemblies, field trips, illness, or snow days), and the time of day

or day of the week the class was held. Other important factors included parental

support due to musical background and interests; the students’ attitudes, interests, and

musical backgrounds; the musical aptitude of the students; and the uneven proportion

of boys to girls in the second year of the study.

 Will Teaching Music 8

Limitations and Delimitations of the Study

The limitations of this study were:

• Sample size—Based on 271 students randomly assigned to third grade music

classes during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years.

o Age—The study included only third grade students.

o Aptitude—No data was available to gauge student’s musical aptitude.
Pre-test results showed a large difference in the base scores from the first to
the second year of the study.
o Socio-economic status—The large majority of students were from
middle-income homes.
o Limited diversity—The study included a single, large, rural school
district with very limited cultural diversity.
o Location—The school district was located in southeastern Minnesota
in a community with moderately good support of arts programs.

• Teacher—One female elementary music educator with limited experience in an

integrated, transformative approach conducted the study.

• Length of study—The research encompassed two school years, but composition

projects were limited to a three-month period per year based on past practice. A
three-month time span does not allow for full implementation of an integrated,
transformative approach.

• Software—The music programs available for use in the computer lab were
Music Ace and Music Mastery. While the students could experiment with sound
in the Music Ace program, it was not capable of producing a printed copy or
traditional notation icons. The Music Mastery program produced a good print
copy, but had inferior sound quality. Although bar lines are automatically
inserted by the Music Mastery software, student mistakes confuse the system and
it is still necessary for the student to understand note and rest values to use the
program successfully.

• Assessment—Test directions confused some students. Other students made

careless mistakes or copied, which distorted the data.

The delimitations of this study were:

 Will Teaching Music 9

• The independent variables all related to the process of music composition. It is

not possible to ascertain whether results would be consistent teaching other
objectives or musical concepts.
 Will Teaching Music

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Approaches to teaching are as varied as teachers are. As early as 1956,

Benjamin Bloom published his findings on the taxonomy of cognition. His research

led him to believe there are six levels of cognition, ranging from lower order recall of

knowledge to higher order evaluation; that individuals are at different levels in

regards to their cognitive thinking skills; and therefore, it is necessary to vary the

level of questioning to encourage deeper thought processes and accommodate

individual differences (Bloom, 1956). While composition and creativity are at the

higher order “synthesis” level of understanding (Pasch et al., 1991, as cited in

Kassner, 1998), the inclusion of a composition project is not enough to result in

deeper learning. How one teaches these projects determines the level of

understanding achieved and is increasingly important in light of developments in

education over the last twenty years.

The move toward standards-based education and increased accountability was

set in motion in 1983 with the release of the report, A Nation at Risk. The passing of

the Goals 2000: Educate America Act followed in 1994 and led to the development

and publication of national standards in specific subject areas, including the National

Standards for Arts Education (Hickey, 2001). Shortly after, in 1997, the National

Assessment of Educational Progress administered an arts assessment to over 6000

eighth grade students (NCES, 2003). One simple inference from the data collected
 Will Teaching Music 11

was that it was necessary to do a better job of educating all students. The

introduction to the Minnesota Frameworks for Arts Curriculum Strategies stated this

in a slightly different way:

The movement to standards . . . means new standards for teachers as well. It

means we cannot continue to teach in just the same ways we always have. . . .
It means greater accountability for both students and teachers, not just in
terms of “doing” music, but also in terms of “knowing what we are doing”
(Kimpton, 1993, as cited in Frameworks, 2003, p.3).

Maud Hickey and Peter Webster made an even blunter statement:

A major shift in thinking about what music teaching is and how it should be
structured may be necessary for some. For example, the notion that creative
activities will be reserved for the month of February or June because that is
when it is scheduled in the curriculum will need to be changed (Hickey and
Webster, 2001, pp. 22-3).

These statements were the impetus for the examination of recent brain research in

regards to better teaching methodologies.

Creative Thinking

Although creativity is a significant factor in our survival and one aspect of

being human, it is a hard concept to demarcate. Varying researchers have defined it

as the “the process or ability to bring something new into being” (Kettering, 2002, p.

24). This definition implies that all composing is creative. A further refinement of

the definition adds that creative products must be original and aesthetically appealing.

Using these interpretations, it is possible to perceive that a child or inexperienced

composer of any age could complete a composition assignment that is technically

 Will Teaching Music 12

perfect, but lacking any evidence of creativity (Hickey, 2003). It is also possible to

understand that the process of composing can be made almost void of creativity by

imposing too many limitations and requirements that turn the creation of a song into a

lesson on musical notation (Wiggins, 2001). It is during the process of composition

that students make problem-solving decisions based on their current knowledge or

musical schemas. Therefore, the process must include time for exploration,

development of ideas, and repetition that will lead to the selection of the final ideas

(Wilcox, 1994). Lisa C. Delorenzo found in her research that the level of student

engagement in the creative process was dependent, in part, on their freedom of

choice, and ability to discover and develop their own musical ideas (1994). The

implications are that the teaching approach must nurture creativity.

Multiple Modalities

One means of nurturing creativity is teaching that integrates the aural, visual,

tactile, and kinesthetic modalities. Howard Gardner offers validation for this

approach in his theory of multiple intelligences. Because students have different

intelligences and learning styles it follows that it would be more effective to vary

teaching approaches so that every individual would have the opportunity to develop

musical understanding through his or her dominant learning style (Miller, 2002). For

example, asking a child to verbalize an answer when they are a tactile learner or have

not yet developed the vocabulary to describe what they are hearing is
 Will Teaching Music 13

counterproductive. It is much more effective for this type of learner to be able to tap

or manipulate icons that represent the concept being taught. Moving away from a

primarily verbal/aural mode also results in better participation rates and more instant

opportunities for authentic assessment as children manipulate or touch materials

(2002). A final positive aspect of teaching a concept through every modality is that it

gives the students the time and multiple exposures required for reflection and

abstraction, necessary components of developing understanding (Glasersfeld, 1995,

as cited in Miller, 2002). This process is more time-consuming at the outset, but

results in deeper initial learning and better long-term retention and transfer of

knowledge, saving time because re-teaching is unnecessary (2002).

Constructivism

The preceding statement is also one of the key features of a constructivist

approach. While the incidence of this word in current literature would lead one to

believe it is a new movement, this is not the case. The concept first appeared in the

early 20th century in the writings of John Dewey, and reappeared later with the work

of Vygotsky and Piaget. Charlotte Danielson explains that constructivism “holds that

people’s understanding of any concept depends entirely on their mental construction

of that concept—that it, their experience in deriving that concept for themselves”

(Danielson, 1996, p. 23). Teachers guide this process by arranging situations in

which conflicting evidence challenges the students’ beliefs (1996). The students, at
 Will Teaching Music 14

the same time, formulate their own unique understandings, based on their prior

knowledge and experiences, or schemas. Teachers provide the opportunity for even

deeper understanding through scaffolding--the opportunity to generate and share

ideas with other students or adults. Thus, in a constructivist approach, students must

“engage their minds in understanding; they must be minds-on” (1996, p. 25).

Frameworks and the Dimensions of Learning

Many articles and books address which strategies or methods best accomplish

the constructivist approach to learning or understanding. One example is the

Dimensions of Learning, a comprehensive model, based on learning research, which

defines the learning process. Its premise is that five types of thinking, or dimensions,

are essential for successful learning. These dimensions help students: establish

positive attitudes and perceptions about learning, acquire and integrate new

knowledge, develop in-depth understanding, use their knowledge to perform

meaningful tasks, and develop habits that will allow them to self-regulate and think

creatively and critically (Marzano and Pickering, 1997). Each section of the book

contains questions and lists to help teachers reflect on the practices that will best help

them focus on learning. The framework for teaching developed by Charlotte

Danielson would, at first glance, seem to have been written for this same purpose: to

“identify those aspects of a teacher’s responsibilities that have been documented . . .

as promoting improved student learning” (Danielson, 1996, p. 1). Danielson,

 Will Teaching Music 15

however, points out several key differences. The framework provides a structured

opportunity for discussion and reflection on personal teaching practices. Though

grounded in the constructivist approach, it does not endorse a particular teaching style

because teachers must have a repertoire of strategies from which to choose in order to

be effective in every situation. Which strategy works best in which situation?

Unfortunately, few research studies exist which evaluate the effectiveness of different

instructional approaches in reaching desired goals because of the difficulties inherent

in this type of study. Traditional standardized tests, while good for assessing recall

and low-level knowledge, are unsatisfactory for assessing conceptual understanding

(1996). Another difficulty lies in designing a study that controls extraneous

variables: can the experimental approach be compared to another approach with a

comparable group, and can a teacher be effective in any approach if they do not

consider that approach educationally sound? Ultimately, the choice of a teaching

approach lies solely with the teacher because only the teacher present in that room,

with that particular class, on that particular day, can know all the variables of such a

complex situation.

Teaching for Understanding

All agree on one thing: it is vital to teach for understanding. Educational

Leadership devoted an entire 1994 issue to this topic and contained details of the

research completed by the members of the Teaching for Understanding Project at

 Will Teaching Music 16

Harvard Graduate School of Education. The articles define teaching for

understanding as the ability to apply knowledge to real-world problems; taking the

time for long-term, sustained inquiry in which students are encouraged to “actively

argue, inquire, and articulate their understandings”; centering teaching around “larger,

overarching themes”; and engaging students in “activities and assessments that press

them to understand” (Unger, 1994, pp. 2-4). Teachers, whose goal is to teach for

understanding, need to: focus on selecting topics that relate to students’ lives and are

open-ended or “strange”; respect student views; assign activities that allow students

to create original works; and allow for student choice (Perrone, 1994).

Teaching for Musical Understanding

How does this apply to the field of music? First, music composition is both a

“product” and a “process. . . . It is during the process of composing that students

wrestle with solving musical problems of syntax, structure, unity and variety,

individuality and universality” (John Kratus, as quoted by Wilcox, 1994, p. 38). This

problem-solving approach develops understanding. The teacher’s job is to prepare

students by helping them develop the strategies to solve the problems. For example,

learning to transpose or play songs in varying keys will later help students use

sequences in a composition. Encouraging students to take their time and test their

ideas through repetition helps develop their inner hearing. This can only happen if

students are given sufficient time for these activities. Finally, it is important for
 Will Teaching Music 17

students to have the opportunity to share their finished compositions and reflect on

the composing process through class discussion (1994). In this way, they are also

learning from each other. Jackie Wiggins adds other key points in her writings: “In

order for musical understanding to grow, an individual must interact directly with

music through performing, listening, and creating” (Wiggins, 2001, pp. 26-7).

Integrating the study of a musical idea, across all three categories of musical

interaction, results in a more powerful experience and greater understanding of the

concept. It is not enough to talk about or label music. Labels are meaningless to

those who do not understand the underlying concept. Therefore, children must

experience meter, not study time signatures; understand value and duration, rather

than learn only note and rest names; or see melodic contour and hear it inside, instead

of dryly reciting line and space names. The teacher begins at the level of the

students’ current understanding and gently extends it by teaching songs in which the

students will experience new concepts before their extraction. Once the students

master the new concept, the teacher guides them to apply that knowledge to new

material (2001). The application of these principles is the basis for an integrated,

transformative approach.
 Will Teaching Music

CHAPTER III

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Overview

Third grade students at Kasson-Mantorville Elementary School, Kasson, MN

completed two composition projects during the months of March, April, and May of

the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. During the first year, the nonintegrated

projects had many limitations that potentially stifled creativity. The students

completed the compositions without peer interaction and conceptual context provided

by the teacher. The projects in the second year of the study varied in the concepts

taught and the type of organizational setting. Project design included integration

across the three categories of musical interaction (performing, listening, and creating)

and allowance for multiple solutions, requiring students to make choices and

decisions based on their current musical schemas. The implementation of these

changes provided opportunities for students to develop deeper conceptual

understanding.

Research Design

All students completed tests on their knowledge of note and rest names and

values in September and May of their third grade year. Students knew that scores on

the initial test did not affect grades. Each student graphed his or her initial test results
 Will Teaching Music 19

on each section of the test. The students repeated the process in May to chart

individual progress over the one-year period. (See Appendix A: Student Graph.)

At the end of the second year, the researcher compared the test data of the

control group and the experimental group for mode, median, and mean on each

section of the test and the overall total, on both the pre-test and post-test. Gathering

and recording the data in this way made it possible to compare results for final

achievement level and amount of growth. (See Appendix B: Data Collection Chart.)

All students participating in the study also completed a short survey in

November 2003. Items on the survey pertained to the students’ perceived levels of

competence on four music skills (describing and understanding music, reading music

notation, singing, and composing), their musical backgrounds, and their parents’

backgrounds and interest in music.

Selection of Subjects

Because of a lack of data on musical aptitude on which to base comparable

ability decisions, the study included all third grade students attending Kasson-

Mantorville Elementary School for the entire year during the 2002-2003 and 2003-

2004 school years. This resulted in a total of 135 subjects in the control group and

136 students in the experimental group. The school district assigned these students to

six mixed gender classes varying in size from twenty-three to twenty-five students.

The control group’s class size mean was 24, with 49.7% girls and 50.3% boys. The
 Will Teaching Music 20

experimental group’s class size mean was 23, with 41% girls and 59% boys. Twenty-

one students from each group took private instrumental lessons.

Instruments/Measuring Devices

The researcher designed the test and survey used in this study. The format of

the test included four sections designed to monitor knowledge and recall of note and

rest names, understanding of note and rest values as shown by the ability to analyze

symbols for relative size, and ability to apply knowledge to correctly finish

incomplete measures or insert bar lines. Use of this test for pre- and post-testing

began in September 2000. The researcher modified directions and content in

September 2002 to increase the usability of the test. The final test form included

multiple choice, fill-in-the blank, circling the correct answer, drawing the correct note

or rest, and adding missing bar lines. (See Appendix C: Notes & Rests Test.) The

Musical Me survey, though not designed solely for this purpose, provided useful

information on attitudes and background for data interpretation and validity

examination. The survey included four sections, in addition to student name and

class. For the first section, the students circled a smiling, neutral or sad face to

indicate how they felt about their ability to describe and understand music, read music

notation, sing, and compose music. The second, third, and fourth sections pertained

to the musical background of students and parents. Participants used checkmarks and

short answers to complete these categories. (See Appendix D: Musical Me.)

 Will Teaching Music 21

Validity Measures

This study focused on selecting and implementing new strategies for teaching

music composition. To determine the effectiveness of the new strategies, the

researcher compared the test results from the pre- and post-tests of the control group

to the corresponding data from the experimental group. The researcher used the

amount of increase in student understanding of note and rest values over the course of

one school year, both individually and as a group, as the determining factor for

strategy effectiveness. While the test contained questions involving simple recall of

names and values, it also included sections in which the students needed to analyze

and apply knowledge to answer correctly. Use of the same test administrator allowed

testing directions and grading procedures to remain constant over the two-year period.

Reliability Measures

To increase sample size and study reliability, all third grade students attending

Kasson-Mantorville Elementary for the entire school year during 2002-2003 and

2003-2004 participated in the study. The students took the same test in September

and May of their third grade year while receiving the same amount of music

instruction (seventy-five minutes per five-day cycle) from the same teacher in the

same classroom set-up (two class periods in the music room, one in the computer lab

using the same software both years). By using data from the previous year (before

implementation of new strategies) as the control group, the researcher hoped to obtain

data less skewed by teacher attitude. Using an entire grade level also lessened the
 Will Teaching Music 22

chances of data distortion from differences in the socioeconomic status of the

participating students. The researcher limited the length of time spent on composition

projects to the three-month time span used in the first year of the study, although

other strategies changed throughout the year.

Field Procedures

During the first year of the study, the teacher used familiar methods of

instruction:

o Whole-group instruction
o Worksheets about notes and rests
o Flashcard drill of note and rest names (using proportional names such as
whole note or half note) and values (how many beats each receives in 4/4
time)
o Rote learning of rhymes teaching rest names
o Flashcard drill of rhythms (using rhythmic syllables such as “ta” and “ti-ti”)
o Games involving note and rest recognition and rhythm reading skills
o Music Ace 2 software (listening and music reading skills)
o Two composition assignments with specific restrictions on length, and types
and numbers of notes and rests used (See Appendix E: Composition 3-1
Criteria)

Students worked on composition assignments individually with teacher assistance,

but little peer input or interaction. The Music Mastery software used for the

compositions allowed the students to select pitch and rhythm, but the projects did not

have requirements or limits related to pitch. The students listened to some, but not

all, of the final products via computer-generated replay or teacher performance.

During the second year of the study, some of the strategies changed. The

teacher eliminated the notes and rests worksheets, and flashcard drill of names and

values, and reduced the use of rhythm flashcards. The music the students listened to
 Will Teaching Music 23

and performed provided examples for learning names, values, and rhythm practice.

Composition assignments became open-ended in terms of length, and types and

amounts of notes and rests used. (See Appendix F: Composition Gr. 3 Criteria.) The

teacher encouraged students to seek input from their peers during all stages of the

process. Every student heard his or her composition performed during class,

providing multiple opportunities for input and self-evaluation. These compositions

tied into concepts studied during music class relating to the frequency and placement

of different types of notes and rests within a song, and melodic contour. The students

selected both pitch and rhythm for their compositions. Only the second composition

had limits relating to pitch, based on the group composition done to begin this

assignment and feedback from the first compositions.

Conclusion

This study accomplished its goal, to compare the effectiveness of varying

teaching strategies, but the number of variables made it difficult to control all

measures for validity and reliability purposes. Another problem with the study was

that full implementation of an integrated, transformative approach would not be

limited to one aspect of the curriculum over a limited period. As such, it was a good

exercise in the difficulty of designing valid research for real-world applications, but

the results are questionable.

 Will Teaching Music

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The researcher collected and compared data from the entire group of third

grade students during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. Maintained data

included every student’s scores on each of the four sections of the pre- and post-tests,

as well as total scores on each test. These records allowed the researcher to compare

individual students, as well as the group, for final achievement level by quartile. The

researcher also analyzed the amount of growth by total score and test strand over the

one-year time span.

Procedures

The researcher entered all data from the pre- and post-tests into Excel

spreadsheets to facilitate data analysis. The first spreadsheet (Appendix B) listed pre-

and post-test scores by test section and total points, with a separate column to indicate

total points gained or lost. At the end of the second year, the researcher analyzed the

test data of the control and experimental groups for mode, median, and mean on each

section of the test and the overall total, on both the pre-test and post-test. The

following table shows that the pre-test scores for students in the control group were

lower than the pre-test scores for the experimental group in every category. There

was a substantial difference in the mean of the pre-test scores, equaling 8.36 points or

a 25.33% difference.
 Will Teaching Music 25

Table 4.1: A Comparison of Scores by Total Points

Pre-test Pre-test Post-test Post-test

By test section and total:
2002 2003 2002 2003

Mode: Names (8 pts.) 3 6 8 8

Mode: Values (8) 0 5 8 7

Mode: Incomplete
2 7 8 8
measures (8)
Mode: Bar lines (9) 2 8 9 9

Mode: Total score (33) 13 24 33 33

3 4 6 6
Median: Names (8)
Median: Values (8) 2 5 6 7
Median: Incomplete
3 6 6 7
measures (8)
Median: Bar lines (9) 3 6 7 9

Median: Total score (33) 11 21 25 28

2.91 3.82 5.95 5.86

Mean: Names (8)
Mean: Values (8) 2.38 4.99 6.24 6.43
Mean: Incomplete
3.3 5.25 6.2 6.35
measures (8)
Mean: Bar lines (9) 3.27 6.16 6.52 7.4

Mean: Total score (33) 11.86 20.22 24.91 26.04

Average total gain (pts.)

13.05 5.82

Average total gain (%) 39.55 17.64

 Will Teaching Music 26

A comparison of post-test score means shows a difference of only 1.13 points or

3.42%. This difference is small enough to be statistically insignificant, although

examining the number of students above the 60% mastery level equaled 83% for the

control group and 86% for the experimental group. (See Figure 4.1)

Figure 4.1 A Comparison of Post-test Scores by Total Points Achieved

20
2002 Post-test 60%
18 Mastery
2003 Post-test Achieved
16
Number of Students .

14

12

10

0
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33

Total Score by Points

Sorting the data by total score on the pre- and post-tests and dividing into quartiles

shows the same type of results. In this case, 12.85 % more students in the
 Will Teaching Music 27

experimental group achieved final scores in the fourth quartile than students from the

control group. Table 4.2 and Figure 4.2 show these results.

Table 4.2 Percentages of Students per Achievement Quartile

% of students % of students % of students % of students
in lowest in second in third in highest
quartile quartile quartile quartile
Pre-test 2002 32.59 48.15 12.59 6.67
Post-test ‘02 0.74 12.59 33.33 53.33
Pre-test 2003 7.35 22.79 40.44 29.41
Post-test ‘03 0.74 9.56 23.53 66.18

Figure 4.2

Percentage of Students per Achievement Quartile

70

60

50 Pre-test 2002

Post-test
Percentage

40
2002
Pre-test 2003
30

Post-test
20
2003

10

0
3rd quartile
1st quartile

2nd quartile

4th quartile
 Will Teaching Music 28

However, if one compares the data for greater increase or average total gain,

the results are much different. By rearranging the data in the Excel spreadsheets, as

shown in Table 4.3, the researcher analyzed the data for gain or loss from pre- to

post-test scores by test strand and total points.

Table 4.3 Individual Score Gain or Loss by Section and Total

Student Strand 1 Strand 1 Strand 1 Strand 2 Strand 2 Strand 2

ID # Pre-test Post-test Gain/ Pre-test Post-test Gain/
score score Loss score score Loss

104 1 8 7 0 7 7

113 1 1 0 0 4 4

117 3 2 -1 0 3 3

This made it possible to resort the data by pre-test points for each strand of the test as

shown in Table 4.4, ranking students by their achievement in each quartile.

Table 4.4 Percentage Gain/Loss for Students in the Lowest Quartile

for Strand 4: Inserting Bar Lines

Student Strand 4 Strand 4 Str. 4 Total Total Total Total

ID # Pre-test Post-test Gain/ Pre-test Post-test Points %
score score Loss score score Gain/ Gain/
Loss Loss
28 0 5 5 6 20 14 42.4

126 0 5 5 9 21 12 36.4
 Will Teaching Music 29

32 0 5 5 5 19 14 42.4

124 2 5 3 6 24 18 54.5

98 2 4 2 10 10 0 0

68 2 3 1 19 20 1 3

This step allowed the researcher to compute the mean gain or loss in total percentage

points achieved by students in the four quartiles of each strand, as shown in Table 4.5.

Table 4.5 Total Percentage Gain/Loss by Test Strand Quartiles

Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4

Strand 1: 2002 46.55 38.66 23.13 -25.0

Strand 1: 2003 39.43 28.28 17.44 -3.75

Strand 2: 2002 61.06 37.5 21.05 0

Strand 2: 2003 42.86 29.59 15.58 -0.43

Strand 3: 2002 57.24 27.5 21.55 3.57

Strand 3: 2003 48.3 25.0 10.07 -3.43

Strand 4: 2002 54.58 28.15 24.07 5.19

Strand 4: 2003 38.38 21.69 28.41 -0.41

Total Score: 2002 47.73 39.3 30.84 19.19

Total Score: 2003 30.61 24.49 19.42 6.89

 Will Teaching Music 30

Again, if comparing gain or loss statistics for students in each quartile of achievement

rather than the percentage of students attaining the highest quartile, students in the

control group had a greater increase in scores in all but the two categories indicated in

bold in Table 4.5. Figures 4.3 – 4.6 show these results by quartile.

Figure 4.3: Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 1

70
2002
2003 60

50

Percentage
40

30

20

10

0
Names Values Incomplete Bar lines Total score
Measures
Test Section

Figure 4.4: Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 2

40
2002
2003 35

30

25
Percentage

20

15

10
 Will Teaching Music 31

Figure 4.5: Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 3

35
2002
2003 30

25

Percentage
20

15

10

0
Names Values Incomplete Bar lines Total score
Measures
Test Section

Figure 4.6: Percentage of Total Gain/Loss for Students in Quartile 4

20
2002
2003 15
10
5
Percentage

0
-5
 Will Teaching Music 32

Referring back to the data in Table 4.1 shows the control group’s average increase in

total score from pre- to post-test is greater by 7.23 points or 21.9%.

As a final check, the researcher compared data collected from twenty-four

students in the experimental group to data from twenty-four students with similar pre-

test scores in the control group. Students represented a balance of low, middle, and

high pre-test scores from each quartile. Comparable pre-test scores and equality in

the number of students taking private lessons were the only criterion for selection. It

proved to be quite difficult to find students with comparable pre-test scores given the

large differences in the number of students in each quartile from the first to the

second year of the study. (See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.2.) The results of this

comparison showed similar figures to the quartile comparisons shown in Table 4.5

and Figures 4.3 – 4.6. Students in the control group had greater increases in overall

test scores than students in the experimental group in every quartile except the third.
 Will Teaching Music 33

There is no way to validate whether the groups were comparable in terms of musical

aptitude, intelligence, socioeconomic status, attendance or other criterions. The only

inference is that this analysis supports the findings shown in the examination of total

score gain or loss by quartile.

Hypothesis Testing

To test the hypothesis of the study, the researcher consulted several websites.

The first, http://davidlane.com/hyperstat, explained the steps of hypothesis testing,

including information on “ruling out chance,” the “null hypothesis,” “probability

value,” “significance level” or confidence interval, and the “standard deviation.”

Next, the researcher used the second website, http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/stats/t-

test.html, to conduct t-tests on the data. Three tests were run, including total pre-test

scores from each group, total post-test scores from each group, and total gain or loss

from pre- to post-test for each group. Table 4.6 shows the results of the three t-tests.

Table 4.6: t-Test Results

Pre- Pre- Post- Post- Total Total

test test test test Score Score
Scores Scores Scores Scores Gain/ Gain/
2002 2003 2002 2003 Loss Loss
2002 2003

Mean 11.8 20.2 24.9 26.1 13.1 5.85

Standard 6.38 7.0 6.27 6.26 5.74 5.05

Deviation
Hi/Low 29.0- 33.0- 33.0- 33.0- 27.0- 24.0-
 Will Teaching Music 34

0.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 0.0 -6.0

Median 11.0 21.0 25.0 28.0 13.0 5.0

Ave. Absolute 4.91 5.74 5.18 4.84 4.69 4.01

Dev.-Median
t -10.3 -1.53 11.0

sdev 6.7 6.27 5.4

Probability .0001 0.13 .0001

These t-tests used a 95% confidence interval or a significance level of 0.05, a

standard level used in research as the criterion for rejecting the null hypothesis. If the

probability is less than or equal to this significance level, then the null hypothesis is

rejected, meaning the outcome is statistically significant. If the probability is greater

than the significance level then the null hypothesis is not rejected. This means that

the outcome is not statistically significant and the results could be simply a matter of

chance. Using these explanations, there was a statistically significant difference in

the pre-test scores. What caused this difference, however, was not the subject of this

study. There was also statistical significance in the amount of gain or loss between

the pre- and post-tests of the control and experimental groups. This leads one to

believe that the type of teaching strategy does have an effect on students’

achievement. In this case, the hypothesis of the study (alternative hypothesis) would

be rejected because the control group showed a greater increase in test scores than the

experimental group over the course of the study. Of what consequence are the
 Will Teaching Music 35

experimental group’s higher final scores? Because the probability (0.13) is greater

than the significance level (0.05), the null hypothesis is not rejected. The

experimental group’s higher post-test scores were statistically insignificant and could

be due to chance. However, this does not mean that the null hypothesis is true, that

using an integrated, transformative approach for teaching music composition does not

produce a greater increase in understanding. The evidence is not strong enough to

reject that possibility in this case.

 Will Teaching Music

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

From the outset of this study, the researcher was aware that the process of

composing music involved students in a higher level of cognition. Composition

requires students to synthesize all the elements of their musical understanding to

produce their song. In addition, evaluation is a natural part of the process. In

listening to their own songs, as well as to their peers’, the students learn to make

judgments that help them decide how to improve their compositions. The goal of this

study was to examine the process of teaching composition to ensure that the strategies

used encouraged deeper conceptual understanding. To do this, all students involved

in the study took pre- and post-tests to document growth. The researcher compared

the results from the control group, before the implementation of new strategies, with

results from the experimental group, taught with the new strategies.

Summary of Results

Using a larger sample size usually leads to results that are more reliable. This

decision led to a quandary midway through the study. A comparison of the pre-test

scores of the control and experimental groups showed a substantial difference. The

pre-test score mean for the control group was 11.86 points, while the mean of the

experimental group was 20.22, a difference of 8.36 points or 25.33%. Could the

researcher show a correlation between teaching methods and level of achievement

 Will Teaching Music 37

with such an inconsistency in base scores? This problem led to the decision to record

the amount of gain or loss over the course of the year rather than just the final level of

achievement of each group.

This method showed an average total gain of 13.05 points (39.55%) for the

control group and 5.82 points (17.64%) for the experimental group. The control

group gained 7.23 points (21.9%) more than the experimental group. The researcher

was still not satisfied that this was a valid comparison, as students with lower scores

would naturally be able to raise their scores more than students starting with higher

scores could. To reduce this possibility, the researcher divided the students into

quartiles with comparable scores on the pre-tests and compared the control and

experimental groups for percentage of gain or loss again. The results (from Table

4.5) showed that students’ post-test scores in the control group increased by a greater

percentage than the scores of the students in the experimental group, even when

compared to students whose pre-test scores were from the same quartiles.

Table 5.1 Percentage Gain or Loss in Mean Scores by Quartile

Mean of Students: Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4

% Gain/Loss 47.73 39.3 30.84 19.19

Total Score: 2002
% Gain/Loss 30.61 24.49 19.42 6.89
Total Score: 2003

As expected, students with the lowest pre-test scores increased their post-test scores

by the highest percentage in both the control and the experimental groups.
 Will Teaching Music 38

Conclusions

Did this study prove that the new strategies were ineffective in increasing

student understanding of note and rest values? As a teacher, the higher post-test score

mean of the experimental group, while statistically insignificant (1.13 points or

3.42%), cannot be totally ignored. Neither can the statistics in Table 5.2:

Table 5.2 A Comparison of Student Achievement in the Highest Quartiles

Control Experimental Difference

Group Group
Students achieving > 60% 83% 86% 3%
on the post-test
Students achieving > 75% 53.33% 66.18% 12.85%
on the post-test

If 12.85% more students (in this case, 17 children) can attain scores in the highest

quartile of achievement without the uninspiring use of drill and rote learning, it is the

conclusion of this researcher that the new strategies at least merit further research.

The data was inconclusive in proving or disproving the hypothesis.

Furthermore, unanticipated variables may have distorted the reliability of the

data. Among these:

o Class time for the control group was between 8:30 – 10:10 a.m.; class time
for the experimental group was between 12:50 – 2:30 p.m.—a time
containing more conflicts (assemblies, early dismissal days) that may have
affected the amount of time students received instruction.

o Gender proportion for the control group was 49.7% female, 50.3% male; for
the experimental group the ratio changed to 41% female; 59% male. This
study can only note the difference as a potential factor.

o Teacher/researcher inexperience in using integrated, transformative teaching

techniques and designing research; effect unknown.
 Will Teaching Music 39

o Parental interest or support for music, as implied by the level of participation

in musical activities indicated on the Musical Me survey, was higher for the
students in the control group. Table 5.3 shows these figures.

Table 5.3 Parent Music Participation

Band Folk Piano High School Adult

Instrument Instrument Lessons Choir Choir
Control 59 % 20% 38% 42% 24%
Group
Experimental 48% 14% 32% 42% 15%
Group

Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the researcher recommends the

continuance of an integrated, transformative approach. These strategies are strongly

supported by educational research and did not result in a lowering of student

understanding of note and rest values, even though less time was spent doing teacher-

led, lower order cognitive drills. Furthermore, by imposing fewer limitations, the

teacher increased the likelihood of all students accessing their current music schemas

to create compositions that met their standard of quality. The researcher informally

observed greater satisfaction and sense of ownership amongst the students during

composition project time in the second year of the study. Evidence of this included

willingness to begin work and dismay at having to stop; begging to have their song

selected for feedback, excitement in hearing their own work, fewer instances of

apathy, and higher finished product quality than in past years.

 Will Teaching Music 40

Recommendations for further study include varying the testing device to

eliminate artificially higher scores from test familiarity; improving test directions to

reduce the number of mistakes occurring because of student confusion; and an

updating of student responses on the Musical Me survey. When students completed

this survey in November 2003, they rated their ability to compose as their lowest

musical skill. (See Appendix D.) This was the case for both the control group (2.1

on a 3-point scale) and the experimental group (2.2). It is the hope of the researcher

that their confidence has improved, along with their enjoyment, having experienced a

transformative approach.
 Will Teaching Music

REFERENCES

ASCD. (1994). Teaching for Understanding. Educational Leadership,

51 (5), 4-19. Retrieved January 19 2004, from
web5.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/
602/1/44242924w5/purl=rcl_EAIM_0_...

Bloom, B. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The

classification of educational goals. New York: David McKay
Company, Inc.

Danielson, C. (1996). Enhancing professional practice: A framework

for teaching. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Frameworks for Arts Curriculum Strategies. Retrieved November 28,

2003, from Research, Assessment & Curriculum:
www.pcae.k12.mn.us/rac/pubs/facs/music.pdf

Hickey, M. (2001). Creativity in the music classroom. Music

Educators Journal, 88, 17-18.

Hickey, M. (Ed.). (2003). Why and how to teach music composition.

Reston, VA: MENC.

Hickey, M., & Webster, P. (2001). Creative thinking in music.

Music Educators Journal, 88, 19-23.

Kassner, K. (1998). Would better questions enhance music learning?

Music Educators Journal, 84, 29-36.

Kettering, B. (2002). Creativity: A research review and model for

music. Minnesota Music Education Research Review in Gopher
Music Notes, 58, 24-29.

Marzano, R., & Pickering, D. (1997). Dimensions of learning, 2nd

edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Miller, B. (2002). Touch the Music! Learning Modalities in

Elementary Music Class. General Music Today, 15 (2), 4-12.
Retrieved 01 17 04, from
www.menc.org/mbronly/publication/gmt02win.html
NCES. (2003). NAEP Arts. Retrieved Jan. 21, 2004, from National
Center for Education Statistics:
nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/arts/

Perrone, V. (1994). How to engage students in learning.

Educational Leadership, 51 (5), 11-13. Retrieved January 19
2004, from http://web5.infotrac.galegroup
.com/itw/infomark/602/1/44242924w5/purl=rcl_EAIM_0_...
Sims, W. (2000). Why should music educators care about NAEP?
Teaching Music, 7, 40-45.
 Will Teaching Music 42

Unger, C. (1994). What teaching for understanding looks like.

Educational Leadership, 51 (5), 8-10. Retrieved January 19
2004, from http://web5.infotrac.galegroup.com/
itw/infomark/602/1/44242924w5/
purl=rcl_EAIM_0_...

Wiggins, J. (2001). Teaching for musical understanding. New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Wilcox, E. (Ed.). (1994). How do children compose? Teaching Music,

2, 38-39.
 Will Teaching Music

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bamberger, J. (1991). The mind behind the musical ear: How children
develop musical intelligence. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press.

Barrett, J., McCoy, C., & Veblin, K. (1997). Sound ways of knowing:
Music in the interdisciplinary curriculum. New York: Schirmer
Books.

Boardman, E. (Ed.). (2002). Dimensions of musical learning and

teaching: A different kind of classroom. Reston, VA: MENC.

Fox, D. (2000). Music and the baby's brain: Early experiences.

Music Educators Journal, 87, 23-27, 50.

Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: How children think and how
schools should teach. New York: Basic Books.

Hickey, M. (1999). Assessment rubrics for music composition. Music

Educators Journal, 85, 26-33.

Hickey, M. (1998). Composition Lesson Plans. Retrieved Dec. 27,

2003, from Northwestern School of Music:
http://collaboratory.acns.nwu.edu/micnet/index.html
Hodges, D. (2000). Implications of music and brain research. Music
Educators Journal, 87, 17-22.

Jensen, E. (2001). Arts with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA:

ASCD.

Jensen, E. (2000). Brain-based learning. San Diego, CA: The Brain

Store.

Kaschub, M. (1997). Exercising the musical imagination. Music

Educators Journal, 84, 26-32.

National Standards for Music Education. Retrieved Jan. 20, 2004,

from The National Association for Music Education:
www.menc.org/publication/books/standards.htm
Reimer, B. (1997). Music education in the twenty-first century.
Music Educators Journal, 84, 33-38.

Rinehart, C. (Ed.). (2002). Composing and arranging: Standard 4

benchmarks. Reston, VA: MENC.

Rudaitis, C. (1994, December). Teaching tool extraordinaire.

Teaching Music, 3,
29-31.
 Will Teaching Music 44

Serafine, M. (1988). Music as cognition: The development of thought

in sound.
New York: Columbia University Press.

Smith, F. (1998). The Book of Learning and Forgetting. New York:

Teachers College Press.

Wiggins, J. (1990). Composition in the classroom. Reston, VA:

MENC.
 Will Teaching Music 45

APPENDIX A

The following is an example of the graph used to record student progress on

notes and rests knowledge. This graph shows the actual data for student #38 from

2002-2003. The teacher marked the scores for each section on the students’ tests.

Students transferred the test data to their graph using color crayons. Students retest in

May of their fourth grade year and record their retention rate using a purple crayon.

Graph: Notes/Rests Test Name

Possible Identification Notes/Rests Incomplete Missing

Points Value Measures Bar Lines
9

6
5

4
3
2
1
0

Key: Red: Gr. 3 Sept. Green: Gr. 3 May Purple: Gr. 4 May
(dotted) (solid)
 Will Teaching Music 46

APPENDIX B

Appendix B contains a minimized portion of one of the Excel spreadsheets

used to record student data on notes and rests knowledge. This data is from students

1-9 of the control group. The use of Excel spreadsheets made it possible to record,

sort, rearrange, and analyze larger quantities of data quickly and easily.

Total pre-test

Piano lessons
Student ID #

Incomplete

Incomplete

Total Post-
test points
Total pts.
measures

measures
Post-test

gain/loss
Bal lines

Bal lines
Pre-test
Names
Values

Names
Values
points

1 1 1 2 3 7 6 5 5 0 16 9
2 0 5 2 4 11 5 8 4 4 21 10
3 3 1 5 4 13 8 6 8 8 30 17 Yes
4 6 1 4 1 12 8 8 8 9 33 21
5 2 0 0 0 2 8 8 6 7 29 27
6 8 8 7 5 28 8 8 8 9 33 5 Yes
7 1 1 3 0 5 2 1 5 2 10 5
8 3 1 6 6 16 8 8 7 9 32 16
9 3 3 0 3 9 8 8 8 6 30 21

Average score= 11.4 26 14.56

 Will Teaching Music 47

APPENDIX C
Will Teaching Music 48
 Will Teaching Music 49

Appendix D

“Musical Me”
Student name Gr. & Teacher

My musical skills: Please circle how your child feels about their musical skills.
Can you:

Describe and understand music ☺ Sing ☺

Read music notation ☺ Write/compose music ☺

My musical activities: Please place a checkmark by the activities in which your
child participates.

Bell Choir

Children’s choir (Church or

community?)

Guitar lessons

Piano lessons

Violin lessons

Other (What?)

Parents’ musical activities: Please place a checkmark by the activities in which you
participate.
Current Former

Band (What instrument?)

Bell choir
In a world
Choir (Church, school where there is never
or community?) enough time, one
Guitar thing remains timeless.
Piano
. . . . . . the
Music.
Violin

Other (What?)
 Will Teaching Music 50

Parents:
Would you be willing to share your musical talents with our K-M students? Yes
No

Name Phone # or email

If you have any questions or comments about our music program, please write them
below.
 Will Teaching Music 51

APPENDIX E

Composition 3-1

Name Gr. 3

Write a musical composition that includes ALL of the requirements in

the checklist. After you finish your composition, complete the
checklist below.

1. Meter of 4 at the beginning

2. Uses at least 3 different kinds of notes, including whole,
half, quarter, or eighth notes
3. Uses at least 2 different kinds of rests, including whole, half or
quarter rests
4. 4 measures long
5. 4 beats in each measure
6. Bar lines written at the end of each measure
7. Double bar line at the end
8. The rhythm is interesting
9. You are able to perform your rhythm

Do NOT use any staff lines. Make changes if you do not like how it
sounds.

Students in the control group used this checklist to complete their first

composition assignment. The requirements were so restrictive that the project was

more of a rhythm drill than a creative activity.

 Will Teaching Music

APPENDIX F

Gr. 3 Composition

Name Class

Your grade for your composition is based on the following criteria:

Completed

1. Length: At least 8 measures

2. Time signature of 4/4

3. Four beats per measure

4. More complex rhythms used

All eighth and sixteenth notes beamed in one-beat groups

5. Correct use of bar lines and double bar lines

6. Title and name entered

This is the composition checklist used by the experimental group during the

second year. The teacher removed the restrictions on the composition length, and

number and types of notes and rests used, to allow for more creativity. Students used

the checklist to evaluate their own compositions and those of their peers. Student

compositions varied greatly. Some were pages long, while others were the eight-

measure minimum. Some compositions had very basic rhythms. Other students

experimented with sixteenth notes and rests. Compositions had more rhythmic

variety because students were encouraged to use any notes and rests they understood.
 iv

HOW WILL THE ABSENCE OF MOVEMENT FROM THE MUSIC

CURRICULUM AFFECT STUDENTS’ LEARNING AND MUSICALITY?

by

SUSAN M. JYSTAD

B.A. Luther College, 1990

A capstone submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of

Winona State University

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of

Master of Science

Department of Education

December, 2004
 Will Teaching Music

This capstone entitled:

How Will the Absence of Movement from the Music Curriculum

Affect Students’ Learning?

Written by Susan M. Jystad

Has been approved for the Winona State University Department of

Education by:

_________________________________
________________________________
Lester Backus Nicole Meyer

_________________________________
________________________________
Jodi Fisher
Annie Thompson

_________________________________
________________________________
Amy Matuska
Margaret Lundquist, M.S.

_________________________________
________________________________
Mike O’Neill, M.S., resource person Dr. Thomas
Sherman, faculty advisor

_______________________________
Date

The final copy of the capstone has been examined by the signatories,

and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable

presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned

discipline.
 Will Teaching Music

Jystad, Susan (B. A., Music Education)

How Will the Absence of Movement from the Music Curriculum

Affect Students’ Learning and Musicality?

Capstone directed by Dr. Thomas Sherman, Ph. D.

Abstract

Performing with a steady beat, singing matched pitches and musicality are

basic concepts taught in a music curriculum. Kinesthetic movement activities can be

used to assist in teaching these concepts. However, space constraints due to a large

student population often make it difficult to implement movement into the lessons as

much as the teacher would like. This study looked at what would happen if

movement was removed from the curriculum in a general music class.

For one quarter, first grade music students were tested to see what affect the

absence of physical movement would have on their musical performance. Students

were videotaped, recorded vocally, and monitored throughout the quarter to assess

any changes that were evident.

In the timeframe used to conduct the study, it was determined that the

elimination of movement from the music curriculum had little effect on students’

abilities to perform a steady beat. However, the lack of movement did affect pitch

matching and a heightened level of anxiety also became evident, which affected how

students responded to music.

If taught properly, music instruction for students has the ability to enhance

multiple systems of the human body, including the brain. If movement is eliminated

from the curriculum (in this case, due to space constraints) students will not gain the
 iv

stimulation necessary for a natural musical development and their education will be

affected.
 Will Teaching Music

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION…..………………………………………………………...1

Need for the study……………………………………………………………..1

Statement of the problem……………………………………………………...1

Purpose of the study…………………………………………………………...2

Statement of the hypothesis…………………………………………………...2

Definition of terms…………………………………………………………….2

Variables………………………………………………………………………3

Independent……………………………………………………………3

Dependent……………………………………………………………..3

Control………………………………………………………………...3

Limitations of the study……………………………………………………….3

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE…………………………………….5

Music, Movement and the Brain………………………………………………5

Kinesthetic Learning…………………………………………………………..6

The Importance of Natural Development……………………………………..7

III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES…………………………………………...9

Overview………………………………………………………………………9

Subjects ……………………………………………………………………….9

Research Design ………………………………………………………………9

Instruments/Measuring Devices……………………………………………...10

Validity Measures……………………………………………………………10

Reliability Measures…………………………………………………………11

Procedures……………………………………………………………………11
 vi

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...12

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……………………………………………..13

V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION…………………………………………15

Recommendations……………………………………………………………15

VI. REFERENCES………………………………………………………………17
 Will Teaching Music

INTRODUCTION

In the seven years since completion of the new building, the student population

at Kasson-Mantorville Elementary School (grades K-4) has increased from 626 to

805 students. This increase has created space issues, causing many teachers,

including the music specialists, to teach in areas that were not initially planned as

classrooms.

Kasson-Mantorville has a very strong music program. The elementary students

receive three or four (depending on the grade level) 25-minute music sessions in a

five-day cycle, taught by two music specialists at the elementary level. Between

these two teachers, four different rooms/spaces, with just one of those rooms being an

official music room, are utilized. The teaching spaces include the use of a computer

lab, a Kindergarten classroom, and a first grade community area called a pod.

Need for the study

Teaching the basic concepts of steady beat keeping and pitch matching through

singing are important aspects of the music curriculum at Kasson-Mantorville.

Movement is used as a means by which to teach these concepts. However, it is often

difficult to implement movement, given the space constraints. This project

investigates whether the movement method that is currently used to teach the music

students is necessary to build a strong musical foundation.

Statement of the problem

Students need ample space in a music classroom to move about freely without

inhibition. The implementation of movement into the music curriculum has been a
 2

core part of a quality music education program. However, given space issues at the

Kasson-Mantorville Elementary School, it is difficult to incorporate movement to its

fullest potential.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to determine if the implementation of rhythmic

movement in the music curriculum is directly related to the success of the students’

musical advancement.

Statement of the hypothesis

The first grade test group students will be less successful than their peers in the

control group in achieving the curricular expectations of steady beat keeping and

pitch matching with an absence of movement in their music classes.

Definition of terms

Steady beat: the underlying pulse of the music that creates a feeling of stability.

Rhythmic movement: purposeful, regular movement, usually staying within the

beat of the music.

Arrhythmic movement: uneven movement which does not stay within the beat

of the music.

Beat keeping: showing the ability to consistently move to the beat of the music.

Kodály: the surname of Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodály. He developed a

sequential and developmental system to teach children how to build a strong

musical foundation.
 3

Dalcroze: the late Emile Jaques-Dalcroze is a musician who developed a method of

rhythmic education called Eurhythmics. His system has influenced music and

dance programs around the world.

Eurhythmics: a Greek word that means, literally, good rhythm. This method of

rhythmic music education is based on the combination and integration of

body, mind and freedom of expression.

Variables

Independent variables.
The class sections were taught in two different groups. One group was taught

using movement as part of the lesson, and the test group was taught while

limiting the movement of the students during the lesson.

Dependent variables.
The students’ abilities to perform with a steady beat and pitch matching while

singing were measured in this study.

Control variables.
All students in the study were in first grade and from the same elementary

school.

Limitations of the study

The issues of scheduling and facilities were limitations over which this

researcher had no control. Each class was seen three times in a five-day period, but

room assignments and the scheduled times of these classes were varied over those

days. Days when other school activities were planned or holiday breaks took place

caused a change in scheduling and affected the time that students would have had

music class. A second limitation was the relatively small population sample since

only first grade students from Kasson-Mantorville Elementary were studied.

 4

Previous music instruction and socio-economic status of these students may have

affected the results. Due to practical scheduling constraints, no attempt was made to

randomize the samples for this study or to balance the study by gender, ethnicity, or

other means. The time spent with each class was relative to student attendance, class

size and behavioral issues. Also, with portable walls and no ceiling in the pod

classroom, noise and distractions from visitors, staff, or other groups of students

increased the noise level, making teaching difficult.

 Will Teaching Music

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Before a child is born, its body has already been moving in its mother’s

womb. By the middle of the pregnancy, the child’s five senses are in the beginning

stages of functioning. Pregnant mothers often report direct response of their unborn

child to the music that they hear at a concert or movie and this movement only

intensifies after the child is born (Burton and Kudo, 2000). Children’s curiosity can

be directly related to their need for movement; they are natural explorers and can

easily be encouraged to play. By the time they enter into school, young children have

explored and experienced their world through creative movement activities such as

pushing, pulling, throwing and jumping. It is this sort of play and nonverbal language

that children are comfortable with when they begin their formal schooling. In the case

of music instruction, it becomes apparent that movement, both rhythmic and

arrhythmic, can lead these young people toward fostering a strong sense of beat.

Music, Movement and the Brain

The later part of the twentieth century brought about a renewed interest by

researchers in how music and movement can affect a child’s brain development.

Authors Alvarez and Berg (2002) quote one such researcher in their article and write,

“In the 1990’s, researchers … discovered new ways to

foster greater intelligence by nurturing brain growth
during its most active phases. Where society once
viewed the child’s brain as static and unchangeable,
experts today see it as a highly dynamic organ that
feeds on stimulation and experience and responds with
the flourishing of branching, intertwined neural forests.
This discovery presents us with a way of helping our
children reach their fullest and healthiest mental
development. But it has a dark side, as well, if the
 6

child’s mind is under stimulated and underused” (p.

123).

This article suggests a “use it or lose it” approach when the child is still

young. They are ready to learn and, in fact, require much stimulation to reach their

fullest potential.

In his book, Arts With the Brain in Mind, author Eric Jensen (2001) writes that

the application of movement to a task enhances multiple systems of the human body.

Various physical activities are controlled by different parts of the brain. Simple

movements such as chewing influence few systems and are controlled by brain

circuits near the spinal cord. More complex movements like dancing or drumming

involve more parts of the brain, causing the body to make sudden decisions, move

quickly and still focus our attention on the given task.

Kinesthetic Learning

Howard Gardner (1983) originally identified seven kinds of intelligences, two

of which are the bodily-kinesthetic and musical intelligences. Music teachers are able

to focus on these types of intelligences and can easily integrate them into their music

curriculum. Gardner believes in action and activity, claiming that experiences with

inactivity have little lasting impact on the student. Especially at the elementary level,

interpreting a concept through physical movement can help to increase

comprehension, emphasize social skills, and channel the disruptive energies of some

into a positive learning experience (Griss, 1994). Pflederer (in Pratt, 1997) found that

children were able to match pitch and melodic contour more often when they were

asked to actively participate by clapping their hands or tapping while making music.
 7

Many general music methodologies, such as those of Kodály and Dalcroze,

have advocated that movement instruction is a primary step in the process of learning

music (in Pratt, 1997). Phyllis Weikart (in Rohwer, 1998) states, “Watch any group

that is singing together, playing instruments or participating in locomotor rhythmic

movement activities—the greater the number of individuals who perceive the

common beat, the more successful the group experience will be” (p.414). Weikart, a

nationally recognized expert in motor-skills development for children, believes that

the number of children who are able to keep a steady beat is decreasing because they

are receiving movement stimulation in rhythmic patterns rather than on the beat. This

stimulation often occurs with the adults who are the pre-school caregivers of these

children. Instead of clapping a steady beat for the children to follow, caregivers often

clap to the rhythmic pattern of the lyrics instead of clapping with the underlying beat.

The Importance of Natural Development

Many studies are finding that age is directly related to the musical

development of children. By the age of three, Moog (in Pratt, 1997) states that

children are capable of singing the pitches, words and rhythms of a song accurately,

for the most part. The researcher also found that the number of children who could

match movement with the music they heard doubled between the ages of four and six.

Studies have shown that early music training dramatically improves spatial

reasoning necessary for developing math skills. Jensen (2001) explains that the area

of the brain that involves math is also highly involved with music, thus creating an

overlap, of sorts, in that region. He also speaks of a two-year study by Hurwitz et al.

of first graders who received music instruction in the experimental group. The
 8

control group received no music training. At the end of the study, the group with

music training scored higher than their peers in the control group for both years. This

study is relevant in that it shows a connection between thoughtful kinesthetic

movements in music training with helping to build a stronger region in the brain to

develop spatial reasoning.

Besides physical rhythms, a child also has experiences that are aural and

visual, such as a horse’s galloping hooves (Findlay, 1971). With combinations of

experiences such as these, the child is developing his sense of rhythm, though

unaware of its implications, by creating the foundation of his formal education.

 Will Teaching Music

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Overview

This study tested how students reacted to the lack of movement in their music

classes. For nine weeks (one quarter), all forms of movement were removed from the

curriculum, including the constant beat-keeping techniques that have been commonly

used. The study was expected to show that the lack of movement would affect the

students in a negative manner.

Subjects

All one hundred sixty-two first grade students from Kasson-Mantorville

Elementary School were the test subjects for this study. First grade students were

selected for this study because they had one year of formal music instruction in their

background. This enabled the researcher to utilize kindergarten assessment data to

help establish a baseline ability level for the students. Students who moved into, or

out of, the district during the testing period were not used in the data.

Research Design

Of the seven sections, four sections comprised of 92 students total, were kept

as the control group. These students received music instruction as they always had,

with a variety of skills and techniques provided in each lesson, including rhythmic

and arrhythmic movement activities such as hand-clapping, beat-keeping, marching

or dancing and/or some other form of eurhythmics. Significant time was also

dedicated to singing, listening, playing games and playing instruments.

The remaining three classes, totaling 70 students, were deprived of all forms

of movement. These classes received the same lesson content as the control group,
 10

but excluded all activities utilizing movement. Instead of moving to a circle, the

students stayed in their rows, seated on the floor. They were not permitted to show

any form of beat-keeping techniques, movement to show pitch changes or movement

to express emotion or self-expression; the music teacher refrained from any beat-

keeping or movement styles as well. Students were often reminded to keep their

hands in their laps while participating in a singing or listening exercise and were

encouraged to be very still.

Instruments/measuring devices

Among the research collected were assessments that tested steady beat and

pitch matching from the previous spring, when the students were in Kindergarten. In

the fall of their first grade year, the researcher taught her students several songs in

which the beat was very evident. The first few days of the study were spent video

taping each student as, one by one, they performed a steady beat pattern on a hand

drum while the rest of the class sang. Data was collected as the researcher viewed the

video and recorded the results of the test.

To collect data for pitch matching, the researcher tape-recorded each student.

She sang a call and response song with each student, as well as a short melodic

pattern. If the student was able to sing what the teacher sang (voices were matching

in pitch), that student was considered as able to match pitch.

The same testing methods were utilized again at the end of the study.

Validity measures

The results found in this study are limited to that of keeping a steady beat and

pitch matching by the students. This will not necessarily create a valid measure of
 11

overall musicality, but rather, a subset of skills. Other aspects of musicality that were

not measured include concepts such as emotional involvement, self-expression and

the ability to maintain a melody. Since the hypothesis focuses on beat and pitch, the

measurements made were valid. Overall musicality, while important, would be the

focus of future study.

Reliability measures

A single test administrator, the researcher, completed all testing. This means

that there are no problems with different subjective testing due to different people

making the measurements or giving instructions, and it enhances reliability.

Reliability was also enhanced by multiple testing opportunities at the beginning and

end of the study. Since the measures were subjective, reliability may have been

influenced by outside factors affecting the test administrator and/or the students.

Procedures

During the first days of the study, every class was videotaped during a typical

music lesson to evaluate how well the students performed a steady beat. Evaluations

were completed and the results were averaged to get a baseline. The singing records

of these same students as Kindergarteners were referenced; the records included how

well each student could match a simple melodic pattern with a definite rhythm.

These results were used as a baseline for the study to examine how well the students

moved to the beat of the songs or rhymes that they heard, and whether or not they

could match pitch while singing. At the end of the nine-week period, students were

assessed again in the same manner to determine if the data had changed.
 12

Conclusion

The conclusion of this study finds that the hypothesis that first grade students

will be less successful in achieving the curricular expectations of steady beat keeping

and pitch matching with the lack of movement in their music classes was true within

the margin of error of the given data.

 Will Teaching Music

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In the timeframe used to conduct this study, it was determined that the

elimination of movement from the music curriculum had little effect on the students’

abilities to keep a steady beat. The control group improved in their overall steady

beat rates by 3.25%, while the test group improved by 3.17% (see Table 1).

Table 1: Student ability to keep steady beat.

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50% Control Group
40% Test Group
30%
20%
10%
0%
Pre-test Post-test

On the issue of matching pitch, a slightly bigger difference between the two

groups became evident, with the control group scoring higher than the experimental

group. The post-test average score in the control group was 21.2% higher than in the

pre-test; the post-test average score for the test group rose 17.2%. It is important to

note again that all first grade students received the same training during the 9-week

testing period, with the absence of movement activity as the only difference. In the

table below (Table 2), the reader will note that those students who used movement
 14

during singing time did better in the pitch matching assessment than those who could

not.

Table 2: Student ability to match pitch.

100%

80%

60%
Control Group
40% Test Group

20%

0%
Pre-test Post-test

One unexpected result noted by the researcher was a change in the behavior of

the movement-deprived students as classroom management became much more of an

issue. It was apparent that these children wanted to move freely to exhibit their

interpretations of what was heard in class. A heightened level of anxiety was evident

in these classes as well.

 Will Teaching Music

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Movement activities are used as a means to teach the concepts of steady beat,

pitch matching and musicality in a music class. With the space constraints of her

teaching location, the researcher found it difficult to implement movement techniques

into her lessons.

This study looked at what would happen if movement were removed from the

curriculum in the first grade general music classes. For nine weeks, students were

monitored to assess any changes that occurred in their music learning.

Data for this study has shown that the exclusion of movement from the music

curriculum had little effect on students’ abilities to keep a steady beat. However, in

the timeframe used to conduct the study, the lack of movement did affect the

students’ ability to match pitch and a heightened level of anxiety was also evident,

but not measured since it was outside the scope of this study.

Music classes have the capability of enhancing multiple systems of the human

body, including the brain. If movement is eliminated from the curriculum, students

will not gain the stimulation necessary for a natural musical development.

Recommendations

In discussions following a presentation of this study, a question arose about

how the researcher felt this would impact the future music education of the students

in the test group. This research was conducted early in the school year for the sole

purpose of getting those students back on track by the time they finished their career

as first graders. The study was done with much trepidation concerning the education
 16

of the test group, but the point was to show that the impact on students’ learning and

that was accomplished.

Proper brain development in a young child depends upon a combination of

kinesthetic, auditory and visual experiences—a musical version of the three-legged

stool, if you will. To remove one of these “legs” is to remove the opportunity for a

child to receive stimulation to all parts of the brain.

To receive more conclusive data for a study such as this, the researcher could,

and should, collect data for at least two school years. The research would surely be

more accurate and would likely show a greater difference in the results. However, the

research that has been gathered is enough to show that movement is an issue when it

comes to providing an enhanced education for musical development. In addition, the

presumed impact of eliminating movement for music instruction for a group of

students over a longer period of time precludes the pursuit of such research on ethical

grounds.
 17

REFERENCES

Alvarez, B. and Berg, M.(2002). Musical learning and teaching and the

young child.

E Boardman (Ed.), Dimensions of Musical Learning and Teaching: A

Different Kind of Classroom (pp 122). Reston, VA: MENC: The

National

Association for Music Education.

Burton, L., & Kudo, T. (2000). Soundplay: understanding music through

creative

movement. Reston, VA: MENC: The National Association for Music

Education.

Findlay, E. (1971). Rhythm and movement: applications of Dalcroze

eurhythmics.

Evanston, IL: Summy-Birchard Company.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. 1st ed. New York: BasicBooks.

Griss, S. (1994). Creative movement: a language for learning.

Educational Leadership, 51, 78(3).

Jensen, E. (2001). Arts with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA:

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Pratt, D. (1997). Musical Development of the Young Child: Pitch,

Melody, and

Rhythm. Retrieved Jan. 2, 2004,

http://www.music4kidsonline.com/meyc/musdev.htm

Rohwer, D. (1998). Effect of movement instruction on steady beat

perception,synchronization, and performance. Journal of Research in

Music Education, 46, 414-424.