Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

Department

Graduate Education

First Advisor

Patricia C. Kornelis

Abstract

This action research study investigated the impact of playing background music on the time-on-task behavior of students in a high school American Studies class. The research participants were thirteen high school students attending a small K-12 private school in the Pacific Northwest during the 2024-2025 school year. During the first phase of the study, students engaged in working on homework tasks during in-class worktime without any music playing in the classroom. During the second phase, students worked with music playing in the background. This study used an interrupted time-series design to record the percentage of time-on-task for each day of the study and for each phase of the study. Although there was a slight increase in on-task behavior during Phase Two of the study, that increase cannot be attributed to the impact of music.

Comments

Action Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education

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