Running Head: EFFECT OF CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE RETENTION OF MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS IN ELEMENTARY STUDENTS Effect of Classical Music on the Retention of Mathematical Concepts in Elementary Students Victoria J. Payne @02013960 Research in Curriculum and Teaching Howard University Spring 2011
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Running Head: EFFECT OF CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE RETENTION OF MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS IN ELEMENTARY STUDENTS
Effect of Classical Music on the Retention of Mathematical Concepts in Elementary Students
Victoria J. Payne @02013960
Research in Curriculum and Teaching Howard University
Spring 2011
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Introduction
Math has been noted to help students’ minds reason and organize complicated situations and
problems into clear and logical steps. As the most widely used subject globally, mathematic mastery can
give students a competitive edge as they compete for higher‐level and higher‐paying jobs in the future
(Saint Paul Public Schools, 2007; Tutoring 911, 2006). However, in elementary schools, middle schools,
high schools, and colleges alike, the lack of mathematical achievement among a growing number of
students has been a concern of not only teachers and administrators, but the national government.
Programs and initiatives, like No Child Left Behind, have not completely resolved the issue, but rather
shed light on the complexity of the situation. In recent years, teachers and those in teacher preparation
programs possess more impressive academic profiles with higher SAT scores and grade point averages
than individuals in times past, but they have lower pass rates for the PRAXIS exam, which is a
requirement for most teachers in the United States (Gitomer, 2007).
The lack of mathematical achievement is often associated with a fear and intimidation of math.
As a matter of fact, in the latter years of elementary school, math phobia is very common as students
have to transition from concrete math to logical math (i.e. fractions and percentages) (Cordes, 2001).
Also, in the United States an estimated 2% to 6.5% of elementary school‐age suffer from Dyscalculia,
which is a developmental math disorder that can be linked with math phobia (Toppo, 2003).
School administrators and teachers have implemented creative approaches to improve math
performance among their students, but it has been no easy task. Complex, unresolved problems call for
new and innovative solutions. One area that has been gaining attention in the past 10 to 15 years is the
use of music as a means of improving academic performance (Griffin, 2006; Burack, 2005; Strickland,
2001; Davies, 2000; Weinberger, 1998). As far back as the ancient Greeks, music has been coupled with
education with the belief that music is both an abstract science and a branch of mathematics (Levin,
2009). Over the past 40 years, music has been heavily used in television and radio for advertising as a
means of promoting brand awareness and recognition, grabbing attention, and brand association with
the trends of the culture (Griffin, 2006). In retail settings, music is often used to keep shoppers in stores
longer and to create a positive experience.
In many homes across the world, music has been used by caregivers with infants through the
singing of lullabies and play‐songs (Trehub, 2006). The effects of these songs have been calming infants,
maintaining attention for longer periods of time than speech alone, and promoting infant contentment
(Trehub, 2006). Many parents and early childhood educators use music to teach the alphabet (Davies,
2000). Educational television programming, like Sesame Street and School House Rock, have relied
heavily on music to help reinforce the concepts that are being presented. However, in most traditional
classroom settings, music has been used to prepare student for musical performances, but some
researchers have been suggested that music specialists change their focus to integrating music with the
general curriculum for maximized academic success (Bryant‐Jones, Shimmins, & Vega, 2003).
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Statement of the Problem
According to the US Department of Education (2009), America’s schools are not producing the
math excellence required for global economic leadership and homeland security in the 21st century.
This has resulted in a national spotlight on STEM programs, which focus on the studies of Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This phenomenon increased after studies showed the US
students as lagging behind many other nations in these areas. Only 39% of fourth and 32% of eighth
grade students were proficient in math (NAEP, 2009). Though this number has been slowly increasing,
there are still more than half of the students who are not performing at the proficient level in math.
Thus the issue that this research will attempt to help address is improving the understanding and
retention of math concepts in elementary school students.
Of the individuals that passed the PRAXIS II, the SAT math scores were lower for African‐
Americans than for any other ethnic group with a 2002‐2005. African‐American students had an
average score of 459; the average for all racial and ethnic groups was 521 (Gitomer, 2007). The mean
score for African American students starting college in 2009 was 426 with a standard deviation of 97
(The College Board, 2009). This is compared to a mean score 515 for all races with a standard deviation
of 116. Also, family income is strongly correlated to academic performance and specifically
mathematical performance on the SAT where students with family incomes of $20,000 or less averaged
457 on the math portion of the SAT. The majority of low‐income working families live in metropolitan
areas, and blacks are more likely to live in central cities (Turner & Fortuny, 2009), which is where the
researcher intends to conduct this study.
It is important that math performance be increased for all students in order to give them the
necessary skills for their future careers and decision making abilities. It is even more important in inner
city schools with large black populations as many of these students tend to fair below average in
comparison to other ethnic groups and individuals or higher family incomes.
Review of Related Literature
One means of improving students’ math performance is with the use of music in the classroom.
As it relates to the educational experience, it has been noted that music helps us “store and retrieve
rich, multi‐sensory memories (Davies, 2000).” Additionally, music has been shown to lead to improved
In a study measuring the effects of classical music played in the background for 4‐year‐old pre‐
school students on their brain development, after being exposed to music for one hour each day for six
months, the brain electric activity of exposed students was significantly higher than the non‐exposed
students (Malyarenko, Kuraev, Malyarenko, & Khatova, 1996). Specifically, an increase was observed in
the of α₁‐rhythm power, primarily in the left lobe of the brain, and the children exposed to the music
tired less easily than those not exposed to the music (Strickland, 2001).
While most studies have focused on background music’s ability to improve test scores when
played before or during an exam, the purpose of this study is to focus on background music’s ability to
help students retain and then recall mathematical concepts.
Statement of 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.
Methods and Procedures
Methods
This is an action research study designed to determine the effect of background music on the retention
of mathematical concepts in elementary students. The study will determine if the inclusion of the
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independent variable (background music) will lead to an increase in the dependent variable (retention
of mathematical concepts).
Data will be collected through teacher‐made review tests to measure the retention of the learned
mathematical concepts.
Procedure
The experimental study will take place over the course of two days. Convenience sampling will be
employed, where the researcher will use the intact class that she is student teaching. On Day 1 of the
study, during the math time, the class will receive a 10‐minute pre‐test at the start of the math lesson.
Following the pre‐test, the class will receive a math lesson for twenty minutes; there shall be no music
played during this lesson. The students will be taught by the student teacher/researcher. At the end of
the 20‐minute lesson, the class will be given a 6‐question review assessment that will measure their
retention of the materials learned in the first lesson. The class will be given ten minutes to complete the
post‐test, and still there will be no music played at this time.
On Day 2 of the study, during the math time, the class will receive a pre‐test followed by a math lesson
for twenty minutes with classical background music played softly from a portable stereo. The students
will be taught by the student teacher/researcher. At the end of the 20‐minute lesson, the class will be
given a new 10‐question review assessment that will measure their retention of the materials learned in
the previous 20‐minute lesson. The class will be given ten minutes to complete the review, and there
will be music played during the time of the assessment.
Participants
The subjects selected for this study will be students in an urban 3th grade elementary math class that
the researcher will be student teaching. The students will be African‐American. All students in the class
who are present will be included in the study; therefore, convenience sampling will be used. The study
will take place during the spring semester of 2011 school year.
Data Collection
The pre‐test and the post‐test assessments will be scored, matching responses to correct answers on an
answer sheet. Unanswered questions will be counted as wrong, and the mean scores for each test will
be compared for each intervention. The results of each assessment will be analyzed using descriptive
statistics, including the mean, range, and standard deviation.
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Measures
The pre‐test and teacher‐made tests will include fill‐in the blank questions, multiple choice questions,
and higher ability questions. Each answer will be weighted equally. The researcher will pilot the
teacher‐made tests on another teacher to ensure that the test is grade‐appropriate.
Limitations
Due to the fact that this is an action research study, the results generated will not be generalizable to
the entire population of elementary students. Also, as a result of the student teaching arrangement and
the time constraints, the researcher will not be able to test other groups to increase the number of
students in the study. As this research was done during the preparation for the DC‐CAS, the researcher
was not allotted much classroom time to teach math, so the research had to be done during a two to
three day period. Because of a lack of time, students were given the post‐test on a third day, so several
students were not present to take the post‐test. One post‐test was lost. Lastly, there is the possibility
that the daily lessons can have a cumulative effect on the information retained whereby students will do
better towards the end of the lesson.
Results
First Lesson - No Music Invention Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Pre-Test
Raw Score
Percentage Number of Students
Weighted Score
Number Percentage Level
11 100% 3 3.00 3 17% Scores of 100%
10 91% 1 0.91 4 22% Scores Over 90%
9 82% 1 0.82 5 28% Scores Over 80%
8 73% 4 2.91 9 50% Scores Over 70%
7 64% 1 0.64 10 56% Scores Over 60%
6 55% 3 1.64 8 44% Scores Under 60%
5 45% 1 0.45
3 27% 3 0.82
1 9% 1 0.09
Students 18 63% Average
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Post Test
Raw Score
Percentage Number of Students
Weighted Score
Number Percentage Level
19 100% 4 4.00 4 22% Scores of 100%
18 95% 1 0.95 5 28% Scores Over 90%
17 89% 3 2.68 8 44% Scores Over 80%
15 79% 2 1.58 11 61% Scores Over 70%
14 74% 1 0.74 15 83% Scores Over 60%
13 68% 2 1.37 3 17% Scores Under 60%
12 63% 2 1.26
11 58% 2 1.16
7 37% 1 0.37
Students 18 78% Average
Mode: 100% Mean: 78% Median: 79%
Second Lesson - With Music Invention Monday, March 21, 2011
Pre-Test
Raw Score
Percentage Number of Students
Weighted Score
Number Percentage Level
6 100% 4 4.00 4 29% Scores of 100%
5 83% 5 4.17 4 29% Scores Over 90%
4 67% 1 0.67 9 64% Scores Over 80%
3 50% 1 0.50 9 64% Scores Over 70%
2 33% 2 0.67 10 71% Scores Over 60%
1 17% 1 0.17 4 29% Scores Under 60%
0 0% 0 0.00
Students 14 73% Average
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Post Test
Raw Score
Percentage Number of Students
Weighted Score
Number Percentage Level
10 100% 4 4.00 4 29% Scores of 100%
9 90% 4 3.60 8 57% Scores Over 90%
8 80% 1 0.80 9 64% Scores Over 80%
7 70% 1 0.70 10 71% Scores Over 70%
6 60% 1 0.60 11 79% Scores Over 60%
5 50% 1 0.50 3 21% Scores Under 60%
4 40% 1 0.40
3 30% 1 0.30
2 20% 0 0.00
Students 14 78% Average
Mode: 100%, 90% Mean: 78% Median: 90%
Discussion
On the first day, students scored an average of 63% on the pre‐test, and after instruction, their average
score was 78%. On the second day, students scored an average of 73% on the pre‐test, and on the third
day, their post‐test average was 78%. The skills in both lessons were similar as they dealt with patterns,
but the presentation was different. On the first day, students found patterns in charts, while on the
second day, students found patterns in number sequences. While the pre‐ to post‐test difference was
not as significant in the second lesson with the music intervention, the percentage of students that
scored 90% or better was much higher for the post‐tests of the music invention lesson than for the
lesson sans music. After the first lesson without music, the mode score was 100%. After the second
lesson with music, the mode scores were 100% and 90%. More of an improvement was seen in looking
at the median scores. After the first lesson without music, the median score was 79%, while the median
score was 90% after the second lesson with the music intervention. In looking at the percentage of
students that scored below 60%, after the first lesson there was 17%, but 21% after the second lesson
with the music intervention.
On several of the measures observed, the music intervention did not make a significant difference, but
when one looks at the median and the number of students that scored 90% or better, they will see the
improved performance on days when the music intervention was applied.
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The second lesson post‐test scores could easily have been boosted by the cumulative nature of the
material taught. Students could have done better on this test because they had two days of looking and
number patterns. Also, but the second lesson’s post‐test, some of the students were not present, so
their scores were not factored in.
In this study the intention was to evaluate the effects of classical music on the retention of
mathematical concepts, but it was observed that the students were much more calm during the
instructional block when the music was played. This in turn allowed for more instructional time as the
researcher did not have to stop the lesson as much to get students on task.
Using classical music during a mathematics lesson may improve the retention of mathematical concepts,
but this research did not conclude a significant impact. Still, music can improve the classroom
environment and make it easier for students to concentrate on the material being covered by calming
them and eliminating background noises.
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