The Effects of Classical Music on the Retention of Mathematical Concepts in Elementary Students

1. The Effects of Classical Musicon the Retention of Mathematical Concepts in Elementary Students Presented by Victoria J. PayneResearch in Curriculum and Teaching EDUC 379December 9, 2009

2. Introduction • Math helps students’ minds reason and organize complicated situations/problems into clear and logical steps. • In the upper elementary grades, math phobia is very common as students have to transition from concrete math to logical math (i.e. fractions and percentages) (Cordes, 2001). • Historically, music has been coupled with education, and the ancient Greeks believed that music was both an abstract science and a branch of mathematics. • In the past 10-15 years, attention has been drawn to music as a means of improving academic performance.

3. Purpose • Since America’s schools are not producing the math excellence required for global economic leadership and homeland security in the 21st century, there has been a national focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programs.(NAEP, 2009). • Only 39% of fourth and 32% of eighth grade students were proficient in math (NAEP, 2009). • The mean score for African American students starting college in 2009 was 426, compared to 515 for all races (The College Board, 2009). • The purpose of this study is to examine classical background music’s ability to help students retain and then recall mathematical concepts.

4. Review of Literature • Music has been noted that music helps us “store and retrieve rich, multi-sensory memories (Davies, 2000). • Background music can reduce stress and anxiety, cause arousal, motivate, increase on task performance, aid concentration, enhance creativity, and aid in memorization (Griffin, 2006). • Classical background music helped increase the enjoyment of a math class and decreased the perceived challenge posed by math in college students (Orel, 2006) • Significant gains found in math scores in Chicago elementary school after music intervention in classical background music, teacher-made songs, and School House Rock video (Bryant-Jones et al, 2003)

5. Review of Literature • Significantly better performance on paper-folding activity in Australian study of elementary students with classical background music (Ivanov & Geake, 2003). • United Kingdom reseachers saw students able to complete more problems while listening to background music, but no difference in number of correct responses (Hallam et al, 2002). • Mid-western city researchers did not see significant improvement in math scores for music groups after music and games intervention program (Haught et al, 2002).

6. Review of Literature • An increase was observed in the of α₁-rhythm power, primarily in the left lobe of the brain, and the children exposed to classical music tired less easily than those not exposed to the music (Strickland, 2001). • Background music increased students’ mean scores significantly among students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (Hallam and Price, 1998). • Music improves memory and learning, boosts productivity, strengthens endurance, and unlocks creative impulses (Campbell, 1997).

7. Research Question & Hypothesis • Question: Can classical music played in the background of a math lesson help students retain and recall more of the information learned? • Hypothesis:When students in an urban elementary school have background classical music in both the instruction and assessment of the instruction, they will have the highest performance rates. Conversely, with the background music removed from either the instruction or the assessment, they will have lower performance rates. • Independent Variable: Background music • Dependent Variable: Retention of Mathematical Concepts

8. Methods • Design • Convenience Sampling • Action Research Study • Participants • Urban elementary school • In tact 5th grade class • Ethnic/Racial Profile of class: • Predominantly African-American • Sizeable number of Latino students (may be ESL)

9. Methods • Procedures • Day 1 • Pre-test • 20 minute lesson • No music during lesson • Day 2 • 20 minute lesson • No music during lesson • 10 minutes for completion of 6-question assessment • No music during assessment • Day 3 • 20 minute lesson • Background music played during lesson

10. Methods • Procedures (cont’d) • Day 4 • 20 minute lesson • Background music played during lesson • 10 minutes for completion of 6-question assessment • No music during assessment • Day 5 • 20 minute lesson • Classical music played in background • Day 6 • 20 minute lesson • Classical music played in background • 10 minutes for completion of 6-question assessment • Background music played during assessment

11. Methods • Instruments • Mozart’s Sonata in D Major • Portable Stereo • 3 teacher-made tests

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15. Methods • Data Analysis • Differential Statistics • Mean scores of Assessments • Range of scores of Assessments • Standard Deviations of Assessments

16. Ethical Considerations • Parents will receive letters of informed consent to allow their child to participate in this study. • Principal will be asked for permission to perform study.

17. Limitations • Action Research Studies are not generalizable. • Student Teaching limits researcher’s work to a limited number of students. • Possibility that daily lessons may have a cumulative effect on the information retained whereby students will do better towards the end of the lesson because of increased practice and instruction.

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