Part+2+Literature+Review

=LITERATURE REVIEW = My interest in the subject of the use of music in the classroom comes from numerous observations that I have made over the last five years of working as music educator. As a cluster teacher, without my own classroom, I have visited every room in my school to teach almost an entire population of our school. I noticed that the teachers with background or interest in music were supportive and cooperative of my efforts to teach music in their classrooms. That positive attitude was evident in their students' serious attitude towards music and the music instruction. Some teachers also took it upon themselves to share their passion for music with their students in a more concrete way and made listening to music part of their classroom teaching. Some used music to teach other subject areas. The teachers' motivations to bring music to their classroom were not frivolous but practical. As I often hear from both teachers and their students, music makes learning easier and teaching more effective. Until recently, such claims were made without the support of scientific data, but the times are changing. More and more research is being done and most of the conclusions are in favor of placing music in the classroom and elevating it to the status level of other academic subjects. All articles that constitute the theoretical framework for this project were published in or after 1998 and are a clear sign that the idea of music as an important part of education has been gaining momentum. Studies support the concept that the exposure to music is essential because it is part of our biological heritage. Weinberger (1998) describes four types of findings that support the claim that music has a biological basis. First, if his claim is valid, other species would have similar "fundamental abilities in music "(p.l) and monkeys can identify the ''fundamental frequencies of a harmonic series "(p.1). Secondly, the universality of music is evidence of its biological basis. Even though music plays different roles across cultures, it is "ever-present" (p.l). Music, in the forms of lullaby or "musical baby talk" is the universal language used to communicate with the youngest members of societies. Third evidence is the fact that musical ability, like other biological behaviors, reveals itself early in life. Weinberger uses a quote from Moorhead (1977): "toddlers spontaneously exhibit music behavior, using music in their play and communication, composing songs, and inventing original musical notation." (p.2) Weinberger goes on citing specific studies that reveal musical capabilities in infants. The general conclusion of those studies is that infants demonstrate abilities that are considered to be the measures of musicality such as pitch discrimination, melodic contour memory and chunking extended melodic patterns. The fourth supporting finding is the fact that human brain is organized to process fundamental elements of music. The brain cells are "specifically sensitive to pure tone pitch, complex harmonic relationships, rhythm and melodic contour." (p.2) Exposure to music is a form of brain exercise, which strengthens synapses between brain cells. Weinberger lists 6 major functional systems that depend on synaptic strength. The ones most relevant to the scope of this project are: • The sensory and perceptual systems: auditory, visual, tactile and kinesthetic • The cognitive system: symbolic, linguistic, and reading • Planning movements: fine and gross muscle action and coordination • Feedback and evaluation of actions • Motivational/hedonic system • Learning memory The author also discusses the findings that music improves reading comprehension. There is supporting evidence that music facilitates the phonemic stage of reading development. The Weinberger's finding support the conclusion that music is essential to students' intellectual development and for that reason needs to be ever present in our schools as much as it saturates student lives outside of it. Weinberger's concept of seeing music as our biological heritage resonates in writings of other authors as well mainly because it has its implications on how to teach more effectively. According to Olhaver (1998) "As far back as Plato, music was said to be a more potent instrument than any other for education"(p.l). The author writes about the experimental studies led by Gordon Show at the University of California, which concluded that students exposed to music scored 80% higher in tests on spatial intelligence and visualization. The students demonstrated higher ability to draw geometric figures and copy block patterns and work mazes. The author brings up an example of one teacher who experimented with music by testing different styles and genres to modify the classroom atmosphere. When she found the particular CD that worked with her class, "they came down, and learning begin with a zest I'd never experienced before"(p.2). Olhaver gives suggestions for using music in the classroom. • Keep music fresh and new • Play music 30% of class time • Use environmental sounds for getting the emotions going • Play low-volume baroque during presentations • Play classical composers (Beethoven, Chopin or Debussy) during brainstorming • Play New Age and classical guitar for calming Lynn Chalmers (1999) is another author who gives practical guidelines on how to get started using music to enrich the school environment. The author makes scientifically well supported claims that music has a power to change not only our psychological state, but also our behavior, which makes it an invaluable tool to be used with school children. Our physiological state: our heart rate and blood pressure can be altered by skillfully using music of various rhythmic and pitch content. The sources for the impact that music has on us is in our biological being. Our breathing, our digestion, the brain, the nervous system as well as even our individual cells have what Chalmers refers to as "intrinsic rhythmicity". The music can: • prevent or calm intense situations • increase the on-task behaviors • heighten the level on which the information is absorbed The human body's ideal resting rate is 60 beats per minute (bpm). Music played at that tempo is said to produce a state of relaxation. The rationale for that, as Chalmers speculates, is that our heart actually slows down to match the pulse of the music. Experimental studies seem to prove that music played at 60bpm can lower the noise level and enhance students' attention. The author continues with a list of helpful hints on how to make music more effective. It is important to use: • Different genres and tempos • Music selected by students • On a consistent basis • As background throughout the school day Below is hint number 5 in its entirety: Try playing music as students enter the room. This can set tone for the activities to come as well as establish mental and physical focus. Play soft background music when summarizing important concepts or when reading aloud to students. Encourage a visualization of the sequence of events. (p.2) In closing, Chalmers once again states that music has been found to "help students focus, reduce stress, enhance concentration, and improve behavior. With all the evidence for the benefits of music at school, it is surprising that music, according to Kelstrom (1998) "occupies a part-time place in U.S. schools." (p.l) In other modem countries like Hungary, Japan and the Netherlands, music is a major part of the curriculum. The rational for changing the curricula in American schools to include music is supported by a number of studies that indicate that there is a direct link between music and academic achievement. Kelstrom writes about experimental studies, which demonstrate that listening for even 10 minutes to music by Mozart improved test scores on IQ tests. More specifically, performance on spatial tasks was improved. The areas, which benefit from exposure to music, according to Kelstrom are: • Critical thinking • Memory recall • Listening skills • Logic Music is linked to two major areas of education, reading and math. As the author claims, "Them rhythm of music transfers to the rhythm of reading. " (p.2) Studying music has been known to help students learn math formulas and multiplication tables. In his summary, Kelstrom speculates on the reasons why music doesn't receive the respect it deserves, "Since music doesn't bring in money as sports do, it is dismissed as extraneous, unimportant, and unproductive. The contribution music makes to the academic achievement of students is ignored. "Even though American educational institutions do not have a clear commitment to music education, it is often the individual teacher who takes it upon him or herself to infuse existing curriculum with music. The teacher who was the subject of my study, is a clear example of that, as is Robert McParland, the author of the article "Music to their ears." McParland sees music as "a volatile force in the language arts classroom." (p.l) He talks about one student whose anger about her parents' divorce was triggered by listening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. She grasped crayon and "attacked the page before her. " (p.l) The author noticed that music encourages deep information processing, dramatically increases reading comprehension and retention. Music, in his opinion, invigorates the learning process. He goes on describing the effectiveness of popular music as a learning tool. He sees our response to music as intense and personal. Those characteristics of music experience put, when music is used purposefully, enormous power to shape the lives and the minds of our students. As Diefenbacher (1999) writes, there is a strong correlation between early musical experience and development of musical intelligence in students. It is often assumed that musicality can only be measured by performance ability. In reality the level of music appreciation and responsiveness to this art form is at least equally important. There is a strong case to be made about the pleasure of the listening experience. "There is something spiritual, almost primitive about our needfor music" (p.l), as the author states. She also adds, "The human soul seems to crave musical stimulation." (p.2) Two important elements of the nurturing and stimulating classroom environment ar.e a sense of belonging and expressiveness which "illuminate" school curricula. Davies (2000) seems to share many of Diefenbacher's opinions and adds that music heightens the "emotional involvement" in learning. One of the secrets behind the depth and richness of the music experience is the fact that it requires two hemispheres of the brain to work together. Music creates a positive learning environment and reduces stress. With the articles published on the subject of music in our schools and its usefulness for the purpose of educating children, we will be able to understand the theories and the time proved practices underlying my subject's often intuitive use of music in her classroom. Part 3 Continuing the Legacy