A Comparative Study of Students Performance in Music Class When Taught Using Content Songs and Without Content Songs in 3rd Grade Class at a Selected Elementary School in Tennessee.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare students’ performance in a music class when they were taught using content songs and without content songs at a select elementary class. A sample of twenty-eight third graders learned two lessons, a lesson on the woodwind family through the use of a content song and on the brass family, without the use of a content song, gaining knowledge on four specific instruments from that family, based on the content of characteristics, parts, and pitch. After both lessons, an assessment of 12-items made up of three categories: characteristics, parts, and pitch, was administered to examine students' performance. A significant difference was found between the mean scores of both tests when students were taught using content songs and when taught without content songs. A significant difference was found between the test categories of characteristics, parts, and pitch when using subscores when taught with a content song and when taught without a content song. These results imply that musical mnemonic devices can be an effective teaching tool but maybe more coherent in an elementary music classroom where this strategy is in constant use-and music advocacy is active.