Assessment of music achievements in the areas of cognitive, affective and psychomotor development
Barbara Sicherl-Kafol
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Kardeljeva pl. 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
(e-mail: )
Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research, Lille, 5-8 September 2001
ABSTRACT
The article treats the effects of music learning on the areas of affective, psychomotor and cognitive development. Monitoring of the achievements of music learning was carried out in an experimental group from the lower grades of the primary school. The results of the qualitative research (observing protocols with the qualitative data), have confirmed, that music-achievements effectively stimulate student’s affective, psychomotor and cognitive development. The results of the observing protocols, which accord with the results of psychometric testing in the experimental and control groups, have confirmed the validity of the measuring instruments and can therefore be used directly in the practice of assessment.
INTRODUCTION
The study examined the effects of music learning oncertain aspects of affective, psychomotor and cognitive development. By planning musical objectives in these areas of development a student can gain full learning experience which, according to humanistic-constructivist theory, leads to a balanced development of learning potential. Music learning, according to Gardner’s theory (1983), connects with linguistic, logically-mathematical, space, motional, intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. Balanced development in cognitive, emotional, social, aesthetic and physical areas must become a principle of every school subject, thus also musical education.
PROBLEM
In modern pedagogy holistic models of teaching are (again) gaining importance. These models underline the need to promote affective, psychomotor and cognitive levels of learning development. Analysis of the current theory and practice of musical education in the lower grades of primary school (Sicherl-Kafol, 1995) has shown that musical-objectives planning is primarily based on the cognitive dimension of learning, thus neglecting the areas of affective and psychomotor development. These two areas of development are especially important in the early stage of primary school when students learn through experiencing the learning reality and actively experimenting with it. If we take into account also the principles of process-objective planning of musical education set up in the Curriculum (1998) and the findings of a series of researches (Bastian, 1997; Meyer/Oly, 1997; Weber, 1997; Günther, 1997 and others) that point out positive effects of musical education on the entire learning development, we can see that the recognition of only cognitive dimension of learning is intolerable.
Music as art and as an artistic subject affects an individual as a whole. Musical activities stimulate mental and physical development, emotions, sense of beauty, creativity, self-estem and interpersonal relationships. Therefore an equal progress in cognitive, emotional, social, aesthetic and physical aspects of student’s development must become a principle of planning and assessing in aesthetical and other subject areas.
Considering the above mentioned facts I set the basic research questions:
Is it possible to stimulate a balanced learning development by planning musical objectives in the areas of affective, psychomotor and cognitive development?
What are the effects of musical-objectives planning on different aspects of learning development?
How to asses the effects of music learning in different areas of development?
METHOD
The study of the effects of music learning was carried out according to the experimental method of pedagogical empirical researching. The experimental factor was the method of holistic musical education. 82 first-grade students from four primary-school classes were included in the research in which four primary-school teachers and seven observers (students of the Faculty of Education, Ljubljana) also took part. The work in the experimental group, as opposed to the control group, included the planning of music objectives in the field of affective, psychomotor and cognitive development. The experimental programme was implemented for four month in two classes of seven-year-old students. During this period skilled observers were assessing the processes of music-learning in the field of affective, psychomotor and cognitive development according to the qualitative criteria of the observing protocol. On the basis of the obtained results the observers then formed descriptive assessments of music learning. To determine the influence of the experimental programme on musical achievements in different areas of development I used parameters of descriptive statistics (arithmetic mean, standard deviation, coefficient of asymmetry; Ferguson, 1989). The level of musical achievements of both groups was assessed before and after the experiment. Measures used were tests of musical abilities, skills and knowledge (non-standardized Oblak, 1987 and Sicherl-Kafol, 1999; standardized Gordon, 1979 and Abel-Struth, 1979) and a questionnaire (non-standardized Sicherl-Kafol, 1999).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The findings of the research proved positive effects of the experimental programme on musical development in connection to affective, psychomotor and cognitive development.
Assesment of the affective area showed the development of interest, relationships within the group, emotions, expression in performance, attentiveness and spontaneity (see Table1).
Table 1: x - arithmetic mean, SD - standard deviation, CA - coefficient of asymmetry for
results of a systematic observation of achieving affective objectives at different
musical activities (singing, playing, listening, creating, movement response to
music).
Activity / Variables / / SD / CASINGING / interest / 3.120 / 0.240 / 0.761
relationships / 2.135 / 0.219 / 1.931
emotions / 2.893 / 8.883-2 / 0.152
expression / 2.115 / 0.342 / 0.048
PLAYING / interest / 3.050 / 0.138 / 0.310
relationships / 2.085 / 0.135 / 1.010
emotions / 2.918 / 8.439-2 / -0.889
expression / 2.113 / 0.315 / 0.248
LISTENING / interest / 3.110 / 0.207 / 0.441
relationships / 2.070 / 0.152 / 2.466
emotions / 2.900 / 0.106 / -0.946
attentiveness / 2.685 / 0.265 / -0.974
CREATING / interest / 3.215 / 0.228 / 0.378
relationships / 2.190 / 0.238 / 1.260
emotions / 2.962 / 6.734-2 / -1.535
spontaneity / 2.785 / 0.600 / 0.237
MOVEMENT
/ interest / 2.965 / 0.182 / -0.738RESPONSE TO / relationships / 2.018 / 0.113 / 1.435
MUSIC
/ emotions / 2.938 / 0.113 / -2.400In the affective area of development the experimental group showed positive emotions in all musical activities. Student gained satisfaction in creating, the activity at which they also achieved the highest level of socialisation, interest and spontaneity. The outcome is an indicator of the effects of the experimental programme in which creating was included as a teaching method and as a learning achievement. A certain degree of progress in the active listening to works of music and in the sensitivity to aesthetic interpretation was also detected. The level of expression in performance was rather low, which corresponds to the level of children’s musical development (Wing, 1971), but it was nevertheless important for the formation of future aesthetic experience. In the social behaviour students reached an above- average level of relationships, as they were undertaking activities on their own initiative and were taking the initiative for group-work.
Assesment of the psychomotor area included the development of clear articulation, motor reactions during singing and listening, performing skills, co-ordination and appropriateness of moves, types of moves and spatial orientation (see Table 2).
Table 2:x - arithmetic mean,SD - standard deviation, CA - coefficient of asymmetry for results of a systematic observation of achieving psychomotor objectives at different musical activities (singing, playing, listening, creating, movement response to music).
Activity / Variables / / SD / CASINGING / articulation / 2.570 / 0.371 / -0.309
motor reactions / 1.708 / 0.255 / -0.226
PLAYING
/ performing skills / 2.870 / 0.375 / -0.702LISTENING / motor reactions / 1.743 / 0.252 / -0.843
MOVEMENT / appropriateness / 2.475 / 0.399 / -0.450
RESPONSE TO / co-ordination / 2.730 / 0.312 / 0.204
MUSIC / types of moves / 1.808 / 0.362 / 0.746
spatial orientation / 2.553 / 0.274 / -0.293
In the psychomotor areatheexperimental programmeincluded movement response as a teaching method and as an achievement of musical and movement communication. Students made a significant progress in gross and fine motor skills, co-ordination, skilfulness, spatial orientation and articulation. Even after a relatively short time the training of motor skills showed important effects.
Assesment of the cognitive area included the development of rhythmical and melodic accuracy, tonal stability, expressive qualities, recognising sound characteristics, musical memory, originality and appropriateness of creative suggestions, assimilation of musical knowledge and competence in graphic notation (see Table 3).
Table 3: x - arithmetic mean,SD - standard deviation, CA - coefficient of asymmetry for results of a systematic observation of achieving cognitive objectives at different musical activities (singing, playing instruments, listening, creating, musical knowledge).
Activity / Variables / / SD / KASINGING / rhythm accuracy / 2.648 / 0.354 / -0.605
melody accuracy / 2.323 / 0.346 / 0.273
tonal stability / 1.798 / 0.230 / -0.696
expressive qualities / 2.180 / 0.369 / -0.398
PLAYING / rhythm accuracy / 2.583 / 0.319 / -0.867
melody accuracy / 2.325 / 0.419 / -0.106
expressive qualities / 2.177 / 0.260 / 0.267
LISTENING / number of recognised sound characteristics / 2.293 / 0.313 / -0.574
type of recognised
sound characteristics / 1.263 / 0.392 / 1.089
musical memory / 2.283 / 0.453 / 0.321
CREATING / originality / 2.400 / 0.239 / -0.358
appropriateness / 2.428 / 0.251 / 0.173
MUSICAL / concepts / 15.775 / 1.025 / -0.574
KNOWLEDGE / level of understanding / 3.320 / 0.187 / -0.801
graphic notation / 3.615 / 0.342 / -0.456
The results in the cognitive area also proved an intensive development especially of the fundamental musical abilities, such as sense of rhythm and melody. Children made a significant progress in rhythmical and melodic accuracy of performance. They achieved better results in the area of rhythm, which accords with the theory of Révész (1954) and Bentley (1966), according to which rhythmic abilities develop faster than melodic. Tonal stability was, on the average, almost complete. The quality of understanding reached the level of appliable knowledge, which includes knowledge of musical concepts and competence in graphic notation. Progress was also made in recognising sound characteristics and in development of musical memory. In creating activities the original achievements prevailed.
In order to find out whether the development in affective, psychomotor and cognitive areas wasin balance, I joined the results of the experimental group and compared the frequency distributions (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 – Frequency distribution of the results of a systematic observation of achieving
objectives in affective, psychomotor and cognitive areas.
All three distributions are quite normal, with coefficients of asymmetry in the interval ± 0.5 (CA aff = 0.389; CA pm = 0.079; CA cog = - 0.095). From the point of view of affective, psychomotor and cognitive development there are no major oscillations or prevailing higher and lower values in the experimental group.
The most significant effects were reflected in musical achievements of the cognitive area. Although I based the experimental programme on the affective and psychomotor achievements, its effects were strongest in the cognitive area and less so in the psychomotor area of development. The findings are understandable if we take into account the fact that the processes of development in the above mentioned areas happen gradually and that the effects of the affective area in particular show only after a longer period.
A particularity of the affective development is the gradual internalisation of interests, views, values and emotions, which can be seen from the taxonomy of this area (Krathwohl, 1964). If we take into account also Abeles’ (1981) stages of affective development which in the sense of “graduated internalisation” follow each other from the “mood/emotional” stage through the stage of “making priorities” to the stage of established “taste”. According to Kuhn (1981) this series continues with other stages that include development of views and opinions. The described structure of processes indicates that students in the initial phase of the primary school mostly reach the first and partially the second stage. Higher stages are to be expected in later stages of education.
In the experimental programme the affective area of development formed the basis for learning progress in the psychomotor and cognitive areas. Musical achievements of the cognitive and the psychomotor areas showed relatively fast effects of musical education on development of musical abilities and skills, which accords to results of other researches (an overview of them given by Shuter Dyson and Gabriel, 1981). This again proves the fact that the period till the age of ten is the time of an intensive musical development.
The experimental programme showed positive effects on a balanced learning development. This means that by fulfilling musical objectives in the psychomotor, cognitive and affective areas, the students’ musical and general development can be successfully stimulated.
CONCLUSION
The findings of the research indicate that musical performing, listening to and creating music have positive impacts on the students’ musical and general development. The music learning processes in the affective area stimulate the development of attentiveness, co-operation, relaxed and interactive learning, self-confidence, self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, ability to take the initiative, aesthetic sensitivity and aesthetic evaluation. Together with musical experience of the affective area, student’s psychomotor and cognitive abilities also increase. Psychomotor processes include the development of relaxed movement, body awareness, spatial orientation, movement skilfulness, co-ordination, movement communication, movement sensitivity and expressiveness. On the basis of emotional and motive experience students develop cognitive abilities such as intuition, imagination, thinking strategies, independent studying, problem and creative thinking, critical evaluation and creative communication in different areas of expressing. The processes of learning development in the above mentioned fields are reciprocally related, as experiencing and performing music stimulate the development of musical thinking and vice versa. Learning processes (music learning included) occur in the synthesis of affective, psychomotor and cognitive reaction to the learning reality.
The results of the qualitative research (observing protocols with qualitative data), which accord with the results of psychometric testing in the experimental and control groups, have confirmed the validity of the measuring instruments and can therefore be used directly in the practiceof assessment, which in the initial stage of primary school is carried out according to the principles of descriptive assessment.
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ASSESSMENT OF MUSIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE AREAS OF COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE AND PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT
Barbara Sicherl-Kafol, Music Pedagog, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Kardeljeva pl. 16, Si-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Email:
Biography:
Barbara Sicherl-Kafol PhD in Music Pedagogy, is an Assistant of Music Pedagogy at the Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana. The research work concerns the field of holistic educational planning, particularly the effects of music learning on the areas of affective, psychomotor and cognitive development and the assesment of musical achievements in these areas.
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