Dissertation dish: Does music perception predict phonological awareness

The role of music perception in predicting phonological awareness in five- and six-year-old children by Lathroum, Linda M., Ph.D., University of Miami, 2011 , 130 pages; AAT 3491105

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of music perception in predicting phonological awareness in five- and six-year-old children. This study was based on the hypothesis that music perception and phonological awareness appear to have parallel auditory perceptual mechanisms. Previous research investigating the relationship between these constructs--music perception and phonological awareness--has been promising, but inconclusive. Phonological awareness is an important component of early literacy which many children struggle to acquire. If the constructs are shown to be related, music-based interventions may then be developed to promote phonological awareness, thus enhancing early literacy.

Music perception, phonological awareness, and visual-spatial skills of 119 five- and six-year-old children were tested. The researcher administered the Children's Music Aptitude Test (Stevens, 1987) in order to assess perception of pitch, rhythm, and melody. Subsequently, the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1999) was administered in order to measure phonological awareness skills, including blending, elision, and sound matching. The Visual Spatial Relations subtest of the Woodcock Johnson III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) was later used to assess visual spatial skills.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) allowed the researcher to model relationships between the latent variables to investigate the contribution of music perception, visual-spatial skills, and age to phonological awareness. Results supported the hypothesis that music perception, visual spatial skills, and age predict phonological awareness.

Additionally, music perception made a statistically significant contribution to phonological awareness, when controlling for visual spatial skills and age. Specifically, music perception predicted a larger amount of standardized unit change in phonological awareness than did the other predictors in the theory. Thus, music perception appears to have a stronger relationship with phonological awareness than age or visual spatial skills.

Further, results showed that a model without music perception as a predictor of phonological awareness was not supported. These findings confirm that music perception plays a unique role in predicting phonological awareness, above and beyond the contribution made by visual spatial skills and age. This study's results could be used in support of the development of music-based interventions for promoting phonological awareness in five- and six-year-old children.




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The brain clock in children: How early?

Again, more from my reading of Meck's edited text on the brain clock and interval timing. This time from Sylvie Droit-Volet's chapter on "Temporal experience and timing in children." Dr. Droit-Volet has published extensively on the developmental aspects of the brain clock in children. [I've got at least a half dozen of her articles in my "to read" folder....I just don't have enough time]

Below are some select quotes/conclusions. The bottom line (from my reading) is that the human temporal processing unit (aka. the brain block) is present in young children and research suggests it functions, in most respects, similar to the adult brain clock. One similarity is that auditory information appears to be processed more efficiently by the human brain clock. Also, attention is a critical ability in temporal processing. Below are some tidbits from the chapter (emphasis added by the Time Doc blogmaster).

• These findings suggest that the clock-based system underlying time perception in animals and human adults is functional at an early age.
  

• Our study was then a clear demonstration that the pacemaker-accumulator system is functional at an early age
  

• There is ample evidence that auditory stimuli are judged longer than equivalent visual stimuli, and visual stimuli shorter than auditory ones....Thus, for the same the same objective duration, more pulses are accumulated for auditory signals than for visual signals, and the subjective time seems longer.
  

• However, it has been argued that differences in pacemaker speed are not the main source of variability in a timing system...In fact, according to scalar timing theory, the main source of variance is in the memory-encoding process.

• The greater sensitivity to duration for auditory than for visual stimuli in younger children suggests a sort of primacy of audition over vision in the processing off temporal information. This is an old idea, already put forward by studies in infants perception of temporal characteristics of speech sound and rhythms.
  

• The most critical process in children's abilities to time events is probably the encoding of duration.

• Difficulties in the encoding of duration can also account for the high variability in the memory representation of the standard duration in young children. Indeed, the memory representation is the result of how it has been encoded. Among the cognitive processes involved in the encoding of duration, we have specifically investigated the of attention. 202

• Psychologists agree that the amount of attentional resources increases with age durring early development.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, developmental, intelligence, cognition, brain clock, pacemaker accumulator, scalar timing theory, children, auditory, visual, Ga, Gv, memory encoding

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Random tidbits from the mind blogsphere - 5-31-07

• Check out the Brain Injury blog for a post regarding a possible link between Parkinson's disease and head trauma.
• Thanks again to the great DI blog for a post regarding the neural substrates of symbol use
• ENL blog has an interesting post on how video game training may increase visual span
• Thanks to Mind Hacks for the FYI re: a New York Times book review of a new book on neuroplasticity - the brain's ability to re-organize itself after neurological insult/brain injury.
• More on new books. The Neuroethics and Law Blog reports information regarding a new book (Intervening in the brain) on the emerging ethical issues surrounding our increased intervention in the brain via neurotechnology.
• Omni Brain highlights a recent study dealing with the impact of training executive function abilities in young children.

Technorati Tags: psychology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, educational psychology, brain injury, video games, Gv, visual-spatial, neurotechnology, executive function


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Random tidbits from the mind blogsphere - 2-23-07

• Thanks to Boing Boing for the "small world in your head" neuroscience related post

• Brain Injury has an interesting post about a partnership between the Brain Injury Association and Bob Woodruff (notable reporter who sustained brain injury in Iraq)
• Very interesting visual-graphic of the "whimsical image of the blogosphere from the edge to the core" over at the Data Mining blog.
• The always rich Developing Intelligence blog continues its series of excellent posts re: the development of prospective memory (remembering to remember)
• Thought provoking post (based on recent research article, as per usual) over at the Eide Neurolearning blog on the positive impact on cognitive due to heavily visual-based (Gv) video games...with the question asked--"what about auditory" (Ga)
• More on the whole brain fitness revolution...this time Consumer Reports making suggestions. Thanks to Happy Neuron for the tip
• Thanks to Mind Hacks for the tip re: some cutting edge Parkinson's disease research. This should be of interest to regular readers of the IQ Brain Clock blog, as Parkinson's has been linked to the brain structures closely linked to mental/interval time-keeping.
• Positive Technology Journal has an interesting neurotechnology post re: a recent study (n=5 clinical cases) of the use of some virtual reality neurotechnology in stroke rehab.

Technorati Tags: psychology, education, educational psychology, neuropsychology, school psychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, brain fitness, stroke rehabilitation, virtual reality, brain injury, memory, video games, Ga, Gv

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Common cold causes impaired spatial memory?

Interesting post at the Eide Neurolearning blog regarding a study (with mice) that suggests that the common cold can impair spatial memory (Gv). Maybe that is why I'm not functioning very well today with my mild cold.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain, spatial, memory, Gv, visual-spatial, learning

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Tech tidbit - WOW--I want this toy

Thanks to Mixing Memory for the link to a YouTube video that demonstrates a COOL new design drawing tool. I also want it for XMAS. I think it would be fun to use such a tool to design new forms of intelligence and achievement test items that include motion and movement.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, design, drawing, drawing tool, YouTube, technology, Gv, psychometrics, test development, IQ tests, intelligence, education, testing

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