The purpose of this study was to explore the use of music in the elementary school classroom and to see how it impacts students. The overarching research question that guided the study was: How do educators of different grade levels vary in their use of music in the elementary classroom? The study also examined the impact that different uses of music has on students as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of music in the classroom. Research details the different impacts that music has on the brain as well as on memory, and even relates to how music can be used in a positive way with individuals with autism. This was a qualitative research study that used a phenomenological research method. Participants in this study all come from one elementary school and teach grades ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. After the use of surveys and interviews to gain insight from teachers into their perspectives on using music in the classroom, the researcher came to conclusions that show positive results on the use of music. The findings of this study show that in an elementary school environment, teachers who have younger students use music more often than teachers who have older students. However, all of the teachers found that their use of music positively impacts their students, with minimal complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings show that using music in the classroom is an essential aspect of the elementary school classroom.
"There is music in every child, the teacher's job is to find it and nurture it."
-Frances Clark
When I first started thinking about what I wanted to do my senior thesis research project on, I thought back to what I thought was an important part of my personal education and landed on the idea of music and learning. Growing up I found that when I learned something through a song or chant or even with music in the background I remembered it better and it was more memorable than other things that I learned. What I did not know was why this was such an important aspect of learning to me, and likely others as well.
As soon as I started doing the research for my literature review and was reading about how the brain processes music and how that works with the brain and memory it all started to make sense to me. What I think I and many others knew was that music was important for education, especially in early childhood education and elementary education, we just might not have known why exactly. I wish that there would be some kind of course or training that educators could take, especially those working with younger children, that teaches them about the importance of the use of music in the classroom. After learning all that I have during this thesis research process I cannot wait to learn more about the use of music in the classroom and I hope to find as many ways as possible that I can to include music in my classroom. This has opened my eyes to just how important music is in education and I hope that as I continue to grow as an educator I can help others to understand the importance of music as well.
"I believe multi-sensory teaching stimulates the brain and helps students learn and retain information." (Kindergarten Teacher)
"Studies have shown that music can help individuals retain information, so I use music as a means to help my students associate lesson content with the melodies they're being exposed to." (ELL Teacher)
"It can change mood, draw attention, refocus, or give someone a needed break." (5th Grade Teacher)