Case studies

Alex McGregor of Shakespeare Primary School
The focus of this case study was into specific applications of music to enhance speed of pupils' writing in a test situation.

Alex started by saying that the accelerated learning books had helped him justify his use of music in the classroom. His objective was to explore the influence of music on performance in tests and specifically to see if certain types of music could speed children's handwriting.

In some preparatory work he explored the value of music in i. helping with mental process, ii. helping to alleviate anxiety, and iii. helping focus on a task. He found that some pieces of music could help with children's reading. Just as a metronome might encourage a more flowing response, he found that some composers helped whilst others didn't. For Alex and his class, Haydn helped with reading cadence but Mozart did not.

Children when interviewed about the use of music as part of their test practice commented:

"At first it made me feel nervous but then it made me feel calm and I knew this is it!"
"The music for the test is like Countdown on the telly but it goes on for 45 minutes"

Alex used composer Steve Reich's 18 Musicians, to try and get the children to be able to write faster. Having practise, he then put the music on in the last ten minutes of his class test. A pupil, Katherine, commented,

"I liked the music because it stopped me from working at my usual speed which, can I tell you, is not very fast.'

Alex concluded that music, carefully chosen could have a number of positive uses in advantaging children's classroom learning.