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: [email protected])
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 on certain 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,
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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 (nonstandardized Oblak, 1987 and Sicherl-Kafol, 1999; standardized Gordon, 1979 and AbelStruth, 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).
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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
SINGING
PLAYING
LISTENING
CREATING
MOVEMENT
RESPONSE TO
MUSIC
Variables
interest
relationships
emotions
expression
interest
relationships
emotions
expression
interest
relationships
emotions
attentiveness
interest
relationships
emotions
spontaneity
interest
relationships
emotions
x
3.120
2.135
2.893
2.115
3.050
2.085
2.918
2.113
3.110
2.070
2.900
2.685
3.215
2.190
2.962
2.785
2.965
2.018
2.938
SD
0.240
0.219
8.883-2
0.342
0.138
0.135
8.439-2
0.315
0.207
0.152
0.106
0.265
0.228
0.238
6.734-2
0.600
0.182
0.113
0.113
CA
0.761
1.931
0.152
0.048
0.310
1.010
-0.889
0.248
0.441
2.466
-0.946
-0.974
0.378
1.260
-1.535
0.237
-0.738
1.435
-2.400
In 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 aboveaverage 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).
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Activity
SINGING
Variables
articulation
motor reactions
PLAYING
performing skills
LISTENING
motor reactions
MOVEMENT
appropriateness
RESPONSE TO co-ordination
MUSIC
types of moves
spatial orientation
x
2.570
1.708
2.870
1.743
2.475
2.730
1.808
2.553
SD
0.371
0.255
0.375
0.252
0.399
0.312
0.362
0.274
CA
-0.309
-0.226
-0.702
-0.843
-0.450
0.204
0.746
-0.293
In the psychomotor area the experimental programme included 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
SINGING
PLAYING
LISTENING
CREATING
MUSICAL
KNOWLEDGE
Variables
rhythm accuracy
melody accuracy
tonal stability
expressive qualities
rhythm accuracy
melody accuracy
expressive qualities
number of recognised
sound characteristics
type of recognised
sound characteristics
musical memory
originality
appropriateness
concepts
level of understanding
graphic notation
x
2.648
2.323
1.798
2.180
2.583
2.325
2.177
2.293
SD
0.354
0.346
0.230
0.369
0.319
0.419
0.260
0.313
KA
-0.605
0.273
-0.696
-0.398
-0.867
-0.106
0.267
-0.574
1.263
0.392
1.089
2.283
2.400
2.428
15.775
3.320
3.615
0.453
0.239
0.251
1.025
0.187
0.342
0.321
-0.358
0.173
-0.574
-0.801
-0.456
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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
was in balance, I joined the results of the experimental group and compared the frequency
distributions (see Figure 1).
10
9
8
fre 7
que 6
nci 5
es 4
3
2
1
0
-2.15
cognitive
affective
psychomotor
-1.55
-0.95
-0.35
0.25
0.85
1.45
2.05
value z
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
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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
practice of assessment, which in the initial stage of primary school is carried out according to
the principles of descriptive assessment.
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6
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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: [email protected]
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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