My research so far...

I have found that I will need to focus my research topic on specific age groups. There is a lot of research on music therapy and the effects of music therapy could be different for each age group. Also, I will need to focus my attention to what kind of ailments music therapy helps. I'm not sure if would like to include many types of ailments or stick to just one. I am also not sure of if I will end up talking about one age group either. I will know once I have done further research. I don't think I will have very much luck in finding information. So far, I have searched "Music therapy" and many articles come up, so there will be no trouble in deciding how to narrow the subject down.

So far I have learned that there are in fact researchers who believe that music therapy is not as effective as others believe it is. This will be useful for me when helping my readers to see the whole picture.

Tentative Purpose and Audience of Research Paper

Plans to do:

Audience:

-Music majors

-Psychology majors

-People who are stressed out

Purpose

-Inform readers about the effects of music therapy

-Convince readers of the affectability of music therapy

-Illustrate using examples of case studies

-Clarify what music therapy can and cannot do for health

Questions for my Research Paper Topic

1. Is music therapy a legitimate way of helping people overcome physical or mental illness?

2. To what extent does music therapy help people overcome physical or mental illness?

3. What is the history of music therapy healing people in ancient times? (And how has it affected modern music therapy?)

Exploring my Research Topic

Part I: Exploration

1. Identify the issue or problem that you plan to focus on in your research project.

Does music therapy really work in helping to cure mental and/or physical illness?

2. What is your personal connection to and interest in this topic?

I love music and I have a friend who I majoring in music therapy. I think this is also a very interesting topic. When I play music, listen to music, and/or sing, I know first hand that a lot of stress is relieved. I also know that music can quickly allow people to escape their daily lives. As Aristotle put it, “music is the quickest way to the soul”.

3. What opinions do you already hold about this topic?

I feel that it can help to improve people’s mental stability and peace of mind. I believe that music is a great way of expressing emotions. Expressing emotions is a very good way to keep the mind healthy and happy. I think that music therapy should be incorporated into our everyday lives in order to prevent illness, because people are generally more healthier when they are happy.

4. What knowledge do you already have about this topic?

I know that some people believe that music therapy has helped people who have some kinds of mental illnesses and possibly physical illness too. Also it can help people who are generally stressed out. I know that music is very uplifting and helps us to connect with ourselves. I really don’t know a lot on the subject, I just know that I would like to research it more.

5. What are your main questions about this topic? What are you most curious about?

I would like to know what the opposing side’s point of view and support is. I would like to learn more information both sides to develop a more educated opinion on the subject. I would also like to know if this field is widely accepted in the scholarly world and if this is a new field.

6. Within what scholarly discipline (such as history, biology, psychology) do you expect to do most of your research? How does this discipline approach or study this topic?

I expect to do most of my research within the psychology discipline. I assume the psychology discipline studies this topic through case studies and through general observation in controlled environments.

7. How could you research this topic outside the library (for example, through interviews and/or observations)?

I could hold my own experiment on a stressed out college student and see whether or not music therapy works.

Part II: Focusing

Write an initial claim, or an open-ended question, to guide your research on this topic. Make it specific but exploratory. Remember that a good claim opens up an area of inquiry about a topic; a claim should invite evidence, support, and debate.

Music therapy is an effective way to improve the overall health of humans.

My Sources for Synthesis Paper

Visser, B. A. (2006, September-October). Beyond g: Putting multiple intelligences

theory to the test. Intelligence, 34, 5. Retrieved October 3, 2007, from Science

Direct database.

Visser, B. A. (2006, September-October). g and the measurement of Multiple

Intelligences: A response to Gardner. Intelligence, 34, 5. Retrieved October 3,

2007, from Science Direct database.

Gardner, H. (2006 September-October). On failing to grasp the core of MI theory: A

response to Visser et al. Intelligence, 24, 5. Retrieved October 2, 2007, from

Science Direct database.

Gardner, H. (1998 Winter). A reply to Perry D Klein’s “Multiplying the problems of

intelligence by eight”. Canadian Journal of Education, 23, 1. Retrieved October 1,

2007, from ProQuest database

Teachnology Incorporated into School

Modern computers and technology are changing the way people learn for the better.

Computers are changing the way people learn. According to Richard Ohmann, author of “Computers and Technology”, schools New Jersey are very technologically up-to-date. When they became ‘wired’, “NJ went from failure and a threatened state takeover to the highest scores of any New Jersey city on state tests” (2). Obviously, there’s something about technology and “getting wired” that schools need to pay attention to and act on.

According to David Williamson Shaffer et al in “Video Games and the Future of Learning”, video games “give a glimpse of how we might create new and more powerful ways to learn in schools, Communities and workplaces” (3). Online video games enable players to interact with people from around the world on goals they actually care about. This is a valuable skill to that students should be required to learn and should therefore be incorporated into schools curriculums. As stated by Shaffer, “School is increasingly seen as irrelevant by many students past the primary grades” (10). If kids play these life-simulating video games, then they will become more interested in school and will also learn the very valuable and often overlooked skills needed to succeed in life. Some of these ever-important skills are “integrat[ed] thinking, social interaction, and technology (3).

Although technology has, and will be, a great aid for helping students learn, there are some downsides to consider. Shaffer states that “Teachers and good school leader fight for new technologies and new practices” but they don’t always get it (10). Technology is expensive to keep up with and many schools would rather spend the money on other things. Also, there is always the risk of technology distracting students when they are supposed to be working on schoolwork. In Ohmann’s article, he mentions that “students are tuning out their professor while they send their e-mail messages… and otherwise multitask their way through their [degree]” (3). But distractions in school are nothing new. Students will always be distracted by something, whether it be doodles on the side of their paper, passing notes, making faces at their peers, and so on. Teachers have learned to deal with these distractions, and the internet will be no exception.

I believe that even though these downfalls seem a little overwhelming, the positive effects of learning through technology will outweigh the negatives. Students will learn first hand how the real world as an adult works. Video games simulate real-world situations so that when the students are actually faced with life, they will have already had a little experience and will learn to be more confident. Students can discover new identities that could possibly lead them to decide what they want to do with their lives.

The Summary of the Decade :D

In "Computers and Technology"by Richard Ohmann, he explains how computers are becoming a huge part of the education system. He says this is a good thing, considering computers are used in the work world, so students will have already been exposed to it in school. Computers help kids in school perform better. Although there are some downfalls to having computers in the classroom, such as students being distracted by email and online social communities, all in all, computers in the classroom have, and will continue to improve the quality of learning in school.