Primary and Early Years > Interest > Collaboration

P38: An evaluation of the contribution ICT can make to the music curriculum
Author: Julie Bedford, Music Coordinator, Hartside Primary School, Durham
Date: 2005

The teacher investigated the impact of using ICT in music lessons. Her Year 4 pupils filled in a questionnaire on how much they had enjoyed a non ICT-based music lesson. She then focussed on six pupils who identified an aspect of a non ICT-based music lesson which they had not enjoyed (often relating to dissatisfaction with their live performance). The six pupils used i-Tunes to produce a storyboard telling their story about dragons through music and pictures. The children then completed the same questionnaire that they had done for the non ICT-based work, with one additional question asking whether they had preferred the ICT or instrument (non ICT-based) lesson. These evaluations together with tape recordings of the children at work, demonstrated that all the six pupils enjoyed the ICT-based lesson more, though as the teacher commented, this may have been due to the novelty factor. The children also felt a sense of achievement about the quality of their final performance. The teacher felt that the instrument-based lesson fostered knowledge and performing skills, where as the ICT-based lesson developed children's appreciation of the moods of music.

> Download this research: PDF - Microsoft Word