ECDA Conference 2014 Presented by: Dr. Carol Loy, Kinderland - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ECDA Conference 2014 Presented by: Dr. Carol Loy, Kinderland Educare Services Dr. Noel Chia, National Institute of Education

Introduction • This study is funded by the Early Childhood Research Fund (ECRF) of the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). • The findings and views expressed in this presentation are that of the authors and do not represent the views of ECDA or any government ministries

Music & Linguistic Abilities • Music contributes to preschool-age children's awakening to different subject matters, particularly to reading and writing. (Cutietta, 1995, 1996; Ribière-Raverlat, 1997; Bolduc & Montésinos-Gelet, 2005; Bolduc, 2006). • Musical activities promote the development of auditory perception, phonological memory, and metacognitive knowledge — three components that are equally involved in the development of linguistic abilities. (Bernstein, 1976; Fiske, 1993; Lowe, 1995, 1998; Ribière-Raverlat, 1997; Sloboda, 1985; Bolduc & Montésinos-Gelet, 2005; Bolduc, 2006).

Quasi-experimental Studies Quasi-experimental studies also show that: • Children who participate in musical and first- language interdisciplinary programs develop phonological awareness, word recognition, and invented spelling abilities more efficiently than their classmates who do not participate in such programs. (Bolduc, 2006; Register, 2001; Standley & Hughes, 1997).

Purpose of Study • To compare the effect of children’s musical ability, obtained via formal music teaching, on their reading ability using pre- and post-tests.

Definition of Terms • Audiation Audiation takes place when one hears and feels music through recalling, the sound not being physically present except when one is audiating. (Gordon, 1979) • Musical Ability/Aptitude (Tonal & Rhythm) Ability to differentiate ‘Same’ and ‘Different’ as sound in music elements e.g. pitch, rhythm, pulse, melody, harmony. • Rhyming and Reading Ability Ability to match ‘Letters and Sounds’ and recognize ‘Regular and Irregular words.’

Methodology • A quasi-experimental group design for pre-test/ post-test comparisons. • Parental consent forms signed. • A total of 73 five & six yr. old children participated. • 34 of the children from 2 childcare centers offering the formal music curriculum were assigned to the Experimental group . • 39 from 2 childcare centers that do not offer the formal music curriculum participated in the Control group .

Profile of Participants Age Age Age Age Variable M F (Mean) (Min) (Max) (Range) Experi- 20 14 5 4.6 5.5 0.9 mental 14 25 5.05 4.5 5.6 1.1 Control

Instruments • PMMA (Gordon, 1979) – P rimary M easure of M usic A udiation test – Measures music aptitude (tonal & rhythm) of children (kindergarten, grade 1-3). • WRaPS (Moseley, 2008) – W ord R ecognition a nd P honic S kills test – Measures word recognition with standardized scores & age equivalent (4.5 yrs – 8.75 yrs).

Data Collection Procedures • Children seated in small groups (4-6 per group). • Class teachers help children stay on track. • Practice items for method of answering. • Test items without assistance. • PMMA Tonal test conducted before Rhythm test. • PMMA & WRaPS carried out within same week on 2 separate days.

Data Collection- Tonal Pre -test PMMA apple shoe cup tree

Data Collection- Rhythm Pre -test PMMA truck book

Data Collection- Pre-test

Pre & Post-test Data At the start, independent t -tests showed that both groups were comparable in terms of: • Age • Gender mix • Music aptitude (PMMA Tonal & Rhythm Tests) Gordon, E. E. (1979). • Word Recognition (WRaPS Test) Moseley, D. (2008).

Music Curriculum • Length of treatment: 20 weeks • Frequency of lessons: once a week • Duration of lessons: 60 minutes each • Contents: - Singing - Listening - Rhythm - Keyboard Playing - Ensemble - Notation

Data Collection- Post-test PMMA

Data Collection- Post-test

PMMA Tonal & Rhythm 50 40 36.8 38.7 35 40 30 25.7 28.5 25 30 33.9 27.3 24.7 20 28.1 20 15 Experimental 10 10 Experimental 5 Control Control 0 0 Tonal Pre Tonal Post Rhythm Pre Rhythm Post

PMMA Tonal & Rhythm Tests Increase in Experimental Control mean score Tonal 10.2 5.8 Rhythm 11.1 2.6

Results - WRaPS 60 55.2 (8yr 9mth) 50 40 (5yr 9mth) 30 20.9 (6yr 2mth) 25.9 20 21.3 Experimental 10 (5yr 9mth) Control 0 WRAPS A WRAPS B

Results - WRaPS Experimental Group • Word recognition age (mean) increased from 5 yr 9 mth to 8 yr 9 mth • Total increase = 3 years Control Group • Word recognition age (mean) increased from 5 yr 9 mth to 6 yr 2 mth • Total increase = 0.4 years

Discussion PMMA Aural Subvocalizin g Aural Audiating Hearing Processing Perceiving Music Beginning Pre-Oracy “ Musicy ” Pre-Literacy Literacy Oral Word Audiating Oral Hearing Processing Recognition Perceiving Letter Sound WRaPS

Conclusion • The musical ability of the children in the experimental group had a significant positive effect on their reading ability. • They developed word recognition abilities more efficiently than those who did not participate in the music curriculum.

Implications • Positive musical aptitude can have a positive effect on reading ability as early as preschool. • Formal music curriculum can be used as an efficient complementary educational approach to facilitate the development of linguistic abilities. • This may help reduce reading difficulties when children enter primary school.

Limitations • It is instrumental to note that the results of this study are limited to its design and implementation to rule out threats to validity in terms of testing procedure, participant mortality, history, maturation and selection.

Limitations • Participant selection was controlled with similar profile in terms of gender, age and socio-economic status. • Participant history was controlled with similar profile in terms of word recognition and musical aptitude level. • Participant maturation was accounted for by the comparison of the experimental to the control group's performance. • Participant mortality was controlled for with a large number of subjects (n > 30) for each group. • Testing procedures were controlled for with a 100% fidelity of implementation.

References Bernstein, Leonard. (1976). The unanswered question: Six talks at Harvard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bolduc, Jonathan, & Montésinos-Gelet, Isabelle. (2005). Pitch awareness and phonological awareness. Psychomusicology, 19(1), 3-14. Bolduc, Jonathan. (2006). Les effets d' un programme d' entraînement musical expérimental sur l' approbation du langage écrit à la maternelle [Effects of a music training program on kindergartners' literacy skills]. Québec: Université Laval. Cutietta, Robert. (1995). Does music instruction help children to read? General Music Today, 9(1), 26-31. Fiske, Harold. (1993). Music and mind: The concept of mind in music cognition. Canadian Music Educator, 34(3), 15-26. Gordon, E. E. (1979). Primary measures of music audiation. Chicago, IL: G.I.A. Publications. Lamb, Susannah J., & Gregory, Andrew H. (1993). The relationship between music and reading in beginning readers. Educational Psychology, 13(1), 19-27. Lowe, Anne. (1998). L'intégration de la musique et du français au programme d'immersion française: Avantages pour l'apprentissage des deux matières [Integration of music and French into a French immersion program: Benefits for the two subjects]. Revue des sciences de l'éducation, 24(3), 621-646. Moseley, D. (2008). Word Recognition and Phonic Skills (WRaPS) 3 UK: Hodder Education. Register, Dena. (2001). The effects of an early intervention music curriculum on prereading/writing. Journal of Music Therapy, 38(3), 239-248. Ribière-Raverlat, Jacquotte. (1997). Développer les capacités d' écoute à l' école: Écoute musicale, écoute des langues [Developing listening abilities in school: Musical monitoring and language monitoring]. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. Sloboda, John A. (1985). L' esprit musicien: La psychologie cognitive de la musique [The musical mind: The cognitive psychology of music]. Paris: Mardaga. Standley, Jayne M., & Hughes, Jane E. (1997). Evaluation of an early intervention music curriculum for enhancing prereading/writing skills. Music Therapy Perspectives, 15(2), 79-85.

Research Project Team Dr. Carol Loy , Kinderland Educare Service Dr. Noel Chia , National Institute of Education Patricia Ng , National Institute of Education Susan Tan , Kinderland Educare Services Crystal Lim , Kinderland Educare Services

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