Effects of Using Music in a Special Education Classroom

Poster Number

02

College

College of Education

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Carol Marchel

Abstract

A recent comparison of fifteen-year-olds across the globe from the Program for International Student Assessment indicated that students in the United States are falling behind in learning mathematics. Among the lowest scoring groups in the U.S. are students with identified disabilities, who score significantly below their same-age peers. It is important for the U.S. to improve mathematics instruction for all students, especially those with disabilities. As a method of intervention, music is used in the classroom as a tier two intervention. This paper uses teacher action research to explore the effects of using music as an intervention in a special education classroom. Six fourth-graders with disabilities at Hunter Street Elementary School received music intervention that included steady beat, rhythm, and pitch to support mathematics instruction once a week for twelve weeks. Formative assessments indicated that the songs used for multiplication facts improved the students’ abilities of recall. Students showed improvement in their abilities to solve mathematical problems on multiplication and division after eight weeks of music intervention.

Honors Thesis Committee

Carol Marchel, Ph.D.; Bradley Witzel, Ed.D.; Kerrin Hopper, M.A.

Start Date

22-4-2016 12:00 PM

End Date

22-4-2016 2:00 PM

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Effects of Using Music in a Special Education Classroom

Rutledge

A recent comparison of fifteen-year-olds across the globe from the Program for International Student Assessment indicated that students in the United States are falling behind in learning mathematics. Among the lowest scoring groups in the U.S. are students with identified disabilities, who score significantly below their same-age peers. It is important for the U.S. to improve mathematics instruction for all students, especially those with disabilities. As a method of intervention, music is used in the classroom as a tier two intervention. This paper uses teacher action research to explore the effects of using music as an intervention in a special education classroom. Six fourth-graders with disabilities at Hunter Street Elementary School received music intervention that included steady beat, rhythm, and pitch to support mathematics instruction once a week for twelve weeks. Formative assessments indicated that the songs used for multiplication facts improved the students’ abilities of recall. Students showed improvement in their abilities to solve mathematical problems on multiplication and division after eight weeks of music intervention.