I think I've finally narrowed down my question to a semi-plausible research question. Are college music programs beneficial to student performance in general education classes? I think there may be quite a few different ways that music affects our thinking and learning, but for this project I've chosen to focus specifically on college students and seeing if there is a correlation between those who participate in college music programs and their performance in certain general education classes such as math, science, English, and history.
One of my first concerns with this question was which music classes to consider. Should I consider any music class such as music tech classes or music history classes? I think for now I want to consider mainly music theory classes and performance classes such as choir, band, private lessons, etc. This isn't a firm decision. I need to get a lot more research under my belt before I make the final call on this aspect.
Another aspect I've been thinking through is of the general education courses I could involve in this study. I think math, science, English, and history are a good sampling of the courses that every student is required to take. By choosing these, there should be a good overlap of students who have taken music classes (being a music major or not) and these general classes as well. There are two specifications that I think may be important to consider. The first is to put a limit on the level of classes to consider. I don't think any 3000 level or above classes should be included because these are the classes for majors and shouldn't really be considered general education any more. Also, I'm debating whether or not to include classes completed at a different school. My thought here is that there's a possibility of the grading scale being slightly different from school to school and that I would get more consistent results if I only considered classes taken at the same school.
The reason I want to study this particular area is because I believe that music has had a profound impact on my life and I would like to see if that is the case for many other students at UVU. If so, I think it needs to be documented so that school officials making decisions about the music program here can consider the effects it may have on other school programs. There are definitely still some wrinkles to iron out, but I think I'm starting to get a real vision of what I can accomplish with this project.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteyou're definitely making rapid progress with your plan here. Have you had the opportunity yet to find and review any related studies that might serve as reference points and/or role models for what you're attempting? That will help.
Secondly, assuming you advance along the lines laid out above, you may want to consider both sequence and success in music classes relative to other general ed classes. (The bane of social and behavioral science is the spectacular proliferation of variables that could affect results.) That is, is there any difference when students take the music class(es) before, concurrently with, or after general ed classes? Likewise, is there any residual predictive power of enrollment in one or more music classes, relative to overall success in general ed classes, beyond the correlation of grades in both music and general ed classes? (If students who do better in general ed classes are only those who do well in music classes, then you may simply be identifying that good students are good students, across the boards. And if better students are more likely to enroll in music classes, then again, the music classes may be correlated with but not causative of good performance in general ed classes.)
I suspect that your best bet would be to compare before-and-after grades in general ed classes of students who took a music class with the background population of students who did not, over a set period of semesters.
Again, researching the literature for similar studies, good and bad, will be your best help here.
I don't know why my post from last week didn't work, but I did post something (I believe you got it).
ReplyDeleteSince you are exploring the effect of music on students, you might want to consider also what types of music students are listening to (as it relates to their grades).
Just about everyone is a recreational music listener. You seem be exploring the idea that a conscious disciplined study of music can improve student's learning. We might be just as interested in whether these courses make students more apt to listen to Classical music (or Jazz or whatever) and whether that is a relevant factor as well.
Also, I agree with Mark that there probably has been a lot of work done on different questions related to your interest. We will want to see what has already been done and what remains to be done.
Good start.