It's sure been a while since I posted anything on Stock's Spot. I have been trucking along with my degree plan and research project...now over half way done with my Masters! Here's the latest on the research:
Draft
Action
Research
Project
Progress
Report
Towards
the
beginning
of
this
degree, we
the
students,
were
asked
to
perform
an
action
research
project
.
I
thought
about
what
I
was
going
to
research
I
pondered
the
many
years
that
I
spent
in
the
the
class
in
the
role
of
a
student.
As
I
thought
back
about
the
classroom
environment
an
realized
that
some
teachers would
play
music
and
some
would
refuse
any
form
of
music.
I
remember
that
the
music
seemed
to
help
me
focus
better
than
silence.
This
is
where
I
derived
my
research
topic.
The
title
of
my
Action
Research
project
is
“The
Academic
Effect
of
Music
in
the
Classroom”.
The
plan
is
to
test
the
effect
that
music has
on
students.
I
will
look
at
different
aspect
of
learning
including
grades
attitude
and
attention.
In
assessing
the
need
for
a
study
like
this
I
looked
to
teachers.
Individual
conversations
with
many
teachers
told
me
that
there
were
three
groups
of
opinions that
teachers
fell
into.
The
first
was
that
the
teacher
agreed
that
music
helps
the
students
learn.
The
second
was
that
the
teacher
refuses
to
play
music.
Finally,
the
last
opinion
was
that
the
teacher
did
not
know
or
has
not
tried
music
in
the
class.
With
the
results
of
this
study
I
hope
to
give
all
three
groups
of
teachers
with
research
based
data,
to
help
them
when
deciding
whether
to
use
music
or
not.
The
vision
for
the
Action
Research
project
is
to
provide
scientific
data
about
the
use
of
“Academic Effect
of Music
in
the
Classroom”
for
the
teaching
community.
After
reviewing research on the topic of music uses in the classroom, many
studies agree that there are positive effects on academic learning
and behavior when background music is played during independent work
time. One study by Olsen and Chalmers (1998) even found that music
played in the lunchroom can increase positive behavior in students.
Koppelman and Imig (1995) measured cognitive concentration and
improvement in writing. This was done for an English classroom, but
I believe writing in all content areas could be improved with
background music. For a Masters Action Research project,
Rinaldi-Eichenberg (2010) studied the effect of a variety of music
genres on middle school students moods. This is a very relate-able
study because of the age of the students and the questions they are
asking. I don't plan on finding results of different music genres,
but I do want to concentrate on the changes in student mood and
behavior from mostly classical or orchestral music. I know many
teachers wonder from time to time if the music is really helping, so
I hope to reinforce this as a best practice in the classroom.
The
vision
for
the
Action
Research
project
was
shared
to
the
principal
and
the
students.
I met
with
the
principal
and
received permission
and
encouragement
for
research
of
this
type.
The
students
have
been
notified
using
group
discussion.
They
also
were
very
supportive.
In
the
effort
to
not
skew
the
data,
I
only
mentioned
that
I
would
be
playing
more
music
in
the
class.
To
which
I
received
some
smiles
and
general
agreement.
The
management
of
a
project
like
this
can
be
daunting.
However,
I
am
a
science
teacher
and
am
thoroughly trained
on
how
to
perform scientific
experiments.
The
experiment will
be
preformed
mainly
by
myself
in
only
my
classroom.
I
have
found
it
hard
to
receive
support
from
other
teachers,
considering
that
they
would
have
to
arrange their
entire
lessons
performing
more
responsibilities
that
they
already
have.
The
data
is
being
gathered
and
placed
into
a
Word
document.
A questionnaire will also go out to students to gather qualitative
data and opinions. The
numerical
data
is
being
placed
in
tables
and
charts
and
graphs.
In
assuring
that
student
learning
and
safety
is
first
priority.
I
am
monitoring
closely
what
type
of
music
is
being
played.
I
am
continually
having
students
call
my
music
boring
and
then
request
to
have
theirs
be
played
over
the
speakers.
I
have
refused
to
play
any
student
music.
I
am
playing
wholesome
music
with
majority
being
instrumentals.
The
project
is
not
currently
being
funded
by
an
outside
party.
I
have
been
using
personal
property,
including
Ipod,
CDs,
and
Internet
sites.
I
have
found
it
hard
to
use
the
Internet due
to
content
blockers
from
the
technology
department.
Management of the project will be preformed by myself in the
confines of my classroom. This will be so that I can control the
variables. Over the last three months I have had very little
conflict with others. Most seem supportive that I am performing the
research in my class. The only issue was when I had to change the
first topic. The original independent variable was the effect of
using personal music devices. That was shot down by the
administration in mid November. I was forced to change the topic so
I simply switched to the effect the music. Overall, the research is
going smooth, and with interesting results. I look forward to sharing
the results with my colleagues
