Exploring Student Understanding of the Connections Between Music and Literacy

It has been found that music training improves attention and recall of memory, two skills that are linked to literacy. Music is also strongly correlated with phonological and phonemic awareness. More research is needed to pinpoint therapy methods that integrate music and are Evidence- Based Practices. The purpose of this project was to discover the extent to which aspiring speech language pathologists are aware that musical experiences aid learning and literacy by conducting a survey of undergraduate speech-language pathology and audiology students at The University of Akron. For the methods of this survey, twenty-eight participants completed a survey that was approximately fifteen minutes long. Two sections- “Background Questions” and “Literacy-Based Questions”- were included in the survey. The project was mixed methods, with some questions being likert scale and others being qualitative short- answer prompts. methods, discussion, etc. After the data was collected and the results were analyzed, one overall theme was noted by the researchers: students are somewhat knowledgeable about the neurological connections between music and literacy, and when asked, students can think of ways to apply music to therapy. However, when asked to discuss music integration in therapy or music appreciation in general, students are more inclined to first view music as a calming, engaging sensory activity, rather than a potential therapy aide