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The Effect of Music on the Learning of Nonsense Syllables   by     Mark J. Toci

Contents   Chapter 1: Introduction...............................................................................................page 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................page ? Chapter 3: Methodology..............................................................................................page ? Chapter 4: Results.....................................................................................................page ? Chapter 5: Discussion.................................................................................................page ? References..............................................................................................................page ?

Chapter 1: Introduction   Problem Statement Adolescents often spend a good bit of time listening to music. Many of them listen to music while they study, and many people question.......... Research Question How does..... Hypothesis If a middle school students is........ - 1 -

Chapter 2: Literature Review According to Palmer (1996), students who study while listening to music do not do as well on tests as students who do not listen to music while studying. Along these same lines, the web site learning.com states that listening to music can inhibit learning in a variety of ways. The site goes on to say that although some types of music seem to have less of an effect on learning, all types of music seem to have a negative impact of learning. Charles (2002) states that certain types of music may have a positive effect on learning but the research is inconclusive and difficult to interpret. Charles goes on to suggest that the volume of the music may also have an impact on learning. Finally, memorylearning.com says that where music is concerned "the memorization of strings of numbers was negatively effected by the presence of music in the learning environment." The site goes on to say that students who listen to music while studying seem to score lower on achievement tests. - ? -

Chapter 3: Methodology Independent Variables The independent variable for this experiment is whether or not the subjects listened to music while memorizing the list of nonsense syllables. Dependent Variables The dependent variable for this experiment was the number of nonsense syllables the subjects are able to recall and write down on an answer sheet. Extraneous Variables There were several extraneous variables that we needed to consider and control. Volume of the music, outside noise, and type of music could all have an impact on this experiment........ Experimental Subjects The experimental subjects were 54 randomly selected students from the Regis and Kathy School of Drama. The students ranged in age from 15 to 16, and all of them were from Decker county Control Subjects The control subjects were 54 randomly selected students from the Regis and Kathy School of Drama. The students ranged in age from 15 to 16, and all of them were from Decker county. Methodology, Materials, and Equipment The randomly selected subjects were placed into two groups of 54. The experimental group was..........   The control group was..........     - ? -

Chapter 4: Results Raw Data Music No Music 12 13 12 11 10 14 11 18 20 17 16 18 20 19 Means Music - Mean No Music - Mean 12 18 Two Sample T-Test Summary of Findings The mean for the music group was 12. The mean for the no music group was 18. The difference between the music group and the non-music group was 6. With a P(T<=t) two-tail of 1.085E-05, there does seem to be a significant difference between the two groups.     - ? -

Chapter 5: Discussion Based on our results, music does seem to have a negative effect on learning. There are many possible reasons for this negative impact on learning. Music could disrupt the learner's concentration and make it more difficult for them to........ Music may also..... Finally, music may play a role in ........ There were a number of extraneous variables that may have had an impact on the outcome of the experiment. The room in which the group that studied with music was noisy due to a ceiling fan. There was also a number of interuptions during the test. While the group studying without music took the test....... If this study were to be replicated............ Given the results of this experiment, the researchers would suggest that learners find.......... - ? -

References   Learning and Memory, learning.com Palmer (1996). Music and Learning. Charles (2002). The Effect of Music on Learning, The Journal of Learning How Learning Works, memorylearning.com    - ? -