Music or No Music
Running head: MUSIC IN ELEMENTARY PHYSICAL EDUCATION
To Have Music or Not to Have Music in Elementary
Physical Education: That is the Question
Kerry Krystosek
EPS 523
May 6, 2003
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Music or No Music
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To Have Music or Not to Have Music in Elementary
Physical Education: That is the Question
Introduction
Research has shown the importance of regular exercise in maintaining wellness.
Participation in fitness activities improves physiological and cognitive functioning, as well as
emotional well being (Hill, 2000). It is important to find ways to motivate and enhance exercise
for children. If children think of exercise as appealing, enjoyable, and worthwhile, they are more
likely to continue exercising and have a positive attitude regarding exercise. Students in my
physical education classes seem to enjoy physical activity, but how do I know and what can be
added to enhance their performance?
Previous research has indicated that music has an effect on exercise performance. Music
is used as a distracter when exercising, and often reduces the individuals’ perception of how hard
he or she is working (Loucks, 2000). Listening to music can take one’s mind off their breathing,
sweating, soreness, and fatigue. Thus, it can cause one to work harder because they do not realize
how hard they are working.
A study conducted by Loucks (2000) on college students compared their exercise
intensity during upbeat music, slow music, and with no music during a 30 minute exercise period
on a treadmill (2000). Loucks concluded there was little difference in exercise intensity between
the two sessions when music was used. However, there was a difference in rate of perceived
exertion between the groups with music, both upbeat and slow, as compared to the group with no
music. The latter group reported higher rate of perceived exertion.
Music or No Music
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Music can motivate students as well as bring enjoyment to students while exercising.
Music can be a strong motivator for running and corresponds with movement intensity and
student interest (Hill, 2000). Popular music can heighten students’ interest in an activity because
they have a connection to the music. A study conducted by Ha and Wong (2002) found that
students find greater satisfaction in exercise and enjoyment in exercise increases when music
accompanies physical activity.
Physical education teachers routinely use music to motivate students during physical
instruction. Music is sometimes used in physical education classes to keep students on task. A
study by Ward and Dunnaway (1995) used music to increase the number of laps run by high
school students in a physical education class. The researchers concluded that there was a
substantial increase in the exercise patterns of students when music was played.
While the previous research shows an association between music use and increased levels
of exercise, I wanted to determine if music had any effect on the level of exercise among my
elementary physical education students. Although I play music all the time in my classes, I have
never known for if music really makes a difference in students’ performance levels. Therefore,
this was the basis for my action research project. I hypothesized that students’ physical
performance would increase when I played music in class compared to classes without music.
Method
Participants
Two classes of fifth grade students at a public elementary school in a western suburb of
Chicago were used. Data was calculated on four different days for forty-two students with four
times data for thirty-six of those students. Due to class attendance, the participants for the class
with no music ranged from 18-21 students throughout the four days of testing. As well, the class
Music or No Music
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with music ranged from 18-21 students throughout the four days of testing. The participants were
students in my regular daily physical education classes.
Design and Procedure
Two fifth grade classes of comparable ability, attitude, and enthusiasm for physical
activity were selected for data collection. One class was randomly chosen to have upbeat music
played during four days of fitness stations, and the other class was assigned to have no music
played during four days of fitness stations. Students in both classes counted how many
repetitions of the exercise they completed at two out of eight stations. After the step-ups station
and jumping jacks stations, students recorded their scores on the data collection sheet (Appendix
A and Appendix B) at each station. No names were given with recorded results. I explained that
it was very important to be as honest as possible. One the first day of data collection, there was
more data than number of participants so the data was not used. I explained to the students what
happened and to make sure they were only writing down one score, and again I reiterated the
importance of honesty. After that first day, there were no more discrepancies in the data
collection.
On days one and three, each student exercised at each station twice for fifty-five seconds
each time. On days two and four, each student exercised at each station once for eighty seconds.
One 55-minute station and one 80-minute station were conducted during Week 1, and one 55minute station and one 80-minute station were conducted during Week 3. Both classes were
given the same instructions, station times, and rotation time (5 seconds) between all eight
stations.
After each class, I explained that they would be filling out a survey (Appendix C). They
were instructed that the survey was anonymous and to answer as honestly as possible. Surveys
Music or No Music
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were given to them in their homerooms by their classroom teacher immediately following
physical education class. The homeroom teacher in each classroom collected the surveys and
returned them to me.
The survey was developed to explore how the students identify their activity level and
their work level. As well, the survey was used to find out if the students enjoyed physical
education class and if they enjoy music in physical education. The questionnaire was used as a
tool to see if there was a difference between the class with music and the class without music in
those four areas. The questionnaire was prepared with three to four multiple choice answers to
make it easier for the students to respond.
Results
On all four days, for both jumping jacks and step-ups, the class with music completed
more repetitions than the class with no music. The results of the fitness stations are shown in
Table 1 and Table 2. Figures 1 and Figure 2 show the difference between the class with no
music and the class with music on each day for each exercise. The class with music completed
four to thirteen more repetitions at each station than the class with no music, for an average of
10.5 more repetitions at each station.
The mean scores for Step-ups on Day 1 for the class with no music compared to the class
with music were statistically significant at t = -2.60, df. = 40, p < .05. The mean scores for
Jumping Jacks on Day 1 for the class with no music compared to the class with music were
statistically significant at t = -4.414, df. = 40, p < .01. The mean scores for Step-ups on Day 2
for the class with no music compared to the class with music were statistically significant at t = 3.070, df. = 36, p < .01. The mean scores for Jumping Jacks on Day 2 for the class with no
music compared to the class with music were statistically significant at t = -2.780, df. = 36, p <
Music or No Music
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.01.
The mean scores for Step-ups on Day 3 for the class with no music compared to the class
with music were statistically significant at t = -2.641, df. = 18, p < .05. The mean scores for
Jumping Jacks on Day 3 for the class with no music compared to the class with music were not
statistically significant at t = -1.488, df. = 18, p > .05. The mean scores for Step-ups on Day 4
for the class with no music compared to the class with music were statistically significant at t = 2.850, df. = 19, p < .05. The mean scores for Jumping Jacks on Day 4 for the class with no
music compared to the class with music were not statistically significant at t = -1.950, df. = 19, p
> .05.
Table1. Frequencies for 55 Second Fitness Stations, Day1 and Day 2.
______________________________________________________________________
n
M
SD
______________________________________________________________________
Step Ups Day 1
______________________________________________________________________
No Music
43
53.63
13.55
Music
41
61.32
10.82
______________________________________________________________________
Jumping Jacks Day 1
______________________________________________________________________
No Music
43
60.07
14.35
Music
41
72.68
11.59
______________________________________________________________________
Step Ups Day 2
______________________________________________________________________
No Music
37
49.95
14.54
Music
41
59.68
15.75
______________________________________________________________________
Jumping Jacks Day 2
______________________________________________________________________
Music or No Music
No Music
37
58.68
20.32
Music
37
72.14
18.5
______________________________________________________________________
Table 2. Frequencies for 80 Second Fitness Stations, Day 3 and Day 4.
______________________________________________________________________
n
M
SD
______________________________________________________________________
Step Ups Day 3
______________________________________________________________________
No Music
19
62.32
16.42
Music
21
73.38
11.38
______________________________________________________________________
Jumping Jacks Day 3
______________________________________________________________________
No Music
19
79.53
15.96
Music
21
89.00
24.12
______________________________________________________________________
Step Ups Day 4
______________________________________________________________________
No Music
20
62.00
13.47
Music
20
73.65
10.86
______________________________________________________________________
Jumping Jacks Day 4
______________________________________________________________________
No Music
20
80.10
15.79
Music
20
88.40
17.41
______________________________________________________________________
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Music or No Music
Figure 1. 55 second fitness stations Day 1 and Day 3.
Fitness Sations 55 Seconds
75
70
65
60
No Music
55
Music
50
45
40
Step Ups
Day 1
Jumping
Jacks Day 1
Step Ups
Day 3
Jumping
Jacks Day 3
Figure 2. 80 second fitness stations Day 2 and Day 4.
Fitness Stations 80 Seconds
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
No Music
Music
Step Ups
Day 2
Jumping
Jacks Day 2
Step Ups
Day 4
Jumping
Jacks Day 4
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Music or No Music
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The results of the survey are shown in Table 3. Students in both classes reported their
activity levels to be average or high, with the class having music reporting 19% more at the high
activity level. Work effort for both classes was pretty equal, except 9% of the student in the
class with no music reported only working a little bit. In both classes the majority of participants
liked physical education class on that day, however 15% of the participants in the class with no
music reported not liking physical education that day as opposed to 0% in the class with music.
Again, the majority of participants reported liking music in physical education, 76% of
participants with no music and 84% of participants with music. The only major difference in this
category was that 12% of the students in the no music class reported that they did not like music
in physical education class, while only 2% of the students with music reported not liking music
in physical education class.
Table 3.
Self-report Questionnaire. Student responses given by percent.
____________________________________________________________________
No Music
Music
____________________________________________________________________
Activity Level
____________________________________________________________________
High
56
75
Average
44
25
Low
0___
0__
100
100
n=
68
76
___________________________________________________________________
Work Effort
___________________________________________________________________
Worked as hard as possible 44
47
Worked pretty hard
47
53
Worked a little bit
9
0
Didn’t do anything
0__
0__
Music or No Music
100
10
100
n=
68
76
____________________________________________________________________
Did you like PE today?
____________________________________________________________________
Yes
76
81
No
15
0
I Don’t Know
9___
19__
100
100
n=
68
76
_____________________________________________________________________
Do you like music in PE?
Yes
76
84
No
12
2
I Don’t Know
12_
14__
100
100
n=
68
76
_____________________________________________________________________
Discussion
Personally, I enjoy listening to music when I exercise, and I feel that listening to music
helps me exercise harder. I play music in my physical education class almost everyday. My
students are accustomed to having music in physical education class and they are musically
trained to start when the music starts and stop when the music stops. I have always thought that
music affects their performance and that my students enjoyed having music in class, but I had no
data to support my hypothesis. The results of this study showed a measurable difference
between the class with music and the class without music, which supported previous research
regarding music and physical activity. This study provided a new angle on music and its effect
on exercise performance.
As I observed the classes I noticed that the class without music appeared to be a little less
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active, however they both worked very hard. As the teacher, I personally was a little bored and
easily distracted when no music was played. Additionally, the stations seemed to last longer
without music, even though they were not any longer than the class with music. I also observed
that more students in the class without music got off task more often than the class with music.
The survey was a great tool for me to see how hard my students think they are working. I
was very pleased to see that the majority of students are active and work hard, especially since I
agreed with their responses. The survey does suggest that music produces a higher activity level.
It is uncertain if the reason that fifteen percent of the class without music responded no to liking
physical education that day due to not having music or if it was for other reasons. It is reassuring
to see the positive response of seventy-six percent of the students without music and eighty-one
percent of the students with music enjoying physical education. It was also very encouraging to
see that the seventy-six percent of the students in the class with no music and eighty-one percent
of the students in the class with music responded yes to liking music in their physical education
class.
As far as my own classroom practice, the results encourage me to continue playing music
in my classroom. No matter how little the difference, music does affect performance, and my
job is to keep my students active and give them as much exercise as possible in their twenty
minute class periods. As well, I now know for certain that the majority of my students like
music in physical education. I would like to give more surveys or questionnaires to learn what
my students think about activities in physical education class, in order to improve my lessons and
my teaching skills.
Future studies could be conducted to refine this study by using different measurement
tools. Pedometers could be used to measure activity more objectively. Having teachers,
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researchers, or another person count and record the number of exercises completed by each
student may also give more valid data. Counting the exercises completed at all eight stations
may be another way to collect data. Surveying or interviewing the students more in depth could
also reveal more about students’ perception of music in physical education class.
Music or No Music
References
Ha, A.S.C., & Wong, S.H.S. (2002). Comparison of traditional and alternative fitness teaching
formats on heart rate intensity and perceived enjoyment. Journal of the International
Council for Health Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and Dance, 38(1), 11-14.
Hill, G. M. (2000). Ten ways to get kids excited about running. Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance, 71(4), 25-28.
Loucks, L.E. (2000). Use of music as a distraction during sub maximal exercise. Missouri
Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 10, 38-43.
Ward, P. & Dunaway,. S. (1995). Effects of contingent music on laps run in a high school
physical education class. Physical Educator, 52, 2-7.
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Music or No Music
How many JUMPING JACKS did you do?
Please write your number on one of the lines below.
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Music or No Music
How many STEP UPS did you do?
Please write your number on one of the lines below.
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Music or No Music
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How did you do in PE today?
1. Rate your activity level (did you do a lot of moving) in class today:
Circle one:
LOW
Didn’t get a lot of
exercise
AVERAGE
did a fair amount of
exercise
HIGH
did a lot of
exercise
2. Rate your work effort (how hard did you work). Circle one:
1
didn’t do
anything
2
worked a
little bit
3
worked
pretty hard
4
worked as
hard as possible
sad energized
3. I am feeling (circle one) happy excited tired because: (fill in the blank):
_______________________________________________________________
4. Did you like PE today? (circle one):
YES
5. Do you like music in PE? (circle one): YES
NO
NO
I DON’T KNOW
I DON’T KNOW