Effectiveness of Music Practical Examinations

NCT ID: NCT06187272

Last Updated: 2024-01-02

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 74 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-12-07
• Study Completion Date: 2023-11-28

Brief Summary

College student anxiety is rising alarmingly and directly affects academics, occupations, and well-being. Occupational therapy (OT) students encounter a rigorous workload and pressure to become entry-level practitioners. Higher education faculty strive for evidence-based teaching strategies and effective classroom management and are often challenged to promote a positive classroom culture. This quasi-experimental study explored the effect of listening to music during a lab practical examination on the performance of OT graduate students.

Detailed Description

Through convenience sampling, 68 graduate students in an occupational therapy program were recruited to participate. The quasi-experimental study was conducted at Russell Sage College, in Troy, New York, with approval from the International Review Board Inclusion criteria were male and female first and second-year students, ages 19-34, enrolled in Functional Anatomy and Kinesiology or Physical Agent Modalities. The data was collected during lab practicals in December 2021 and June 2023. Forty-three students signed consent forms to participate. Students sign up for 20-minute time slots in pairs for the practical exam. Each student randomly selects confidential assessment cards and takes turns independently completing their assignment. Each practical contains a grading rubric, and a score of 80 is required to pass. Students either had one private room when an examiner during the practical, and either it was quiet or low 60 bpm music played in the background. Pre and post-outcome measures evaluated each student's state, trait, test anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate outside the assessment room. State and trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults™ by Charles D. Spielberger and the Test Anxiety Inventory by Charles D. Spielberger & Associates. State-Trait Anxiety is cited in over 20,000 articles and is the primary assessment used most often for individuals susceptible to anxiety. The reliability of the State-Trait Anxiety is .86 - .95, and substantial evidence confirms its validity. Mean S-anxiety .59, T- T-anxiety .57 college students of both sexes. The Test Anxiety Inventory measures individual situational anxiety of symptom frequency throughout an exam, like apprehension and nervousness. Remote online survey licenses were purchased to administer the State-Trait Anxiety Adult and Test Anxiety Inventory on each student's laptop. Mind Garden's Transform System collected raw scaled scores. The research team recorded blood pressure and heart rate with the digital Blood Pressure monitor with an upper arm cuff.

Conditions

Test Anxiety; Stress

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Group one with no music

Graduate students with no music

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Group Two with music

Graduate students listening to music

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Listening to music

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Students listened to background music during a practical examination of 60 bpm.

Interventions

Listening to music

Students listened to background music during a practical examination of 60 bpm.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Graduate occupational therapy students enrolled in Functional Anatomy and Kinesiology or Physical Agent Modalities

Exclusion Criteria

• Students not registered for Functional Anatomy and Kinesiology or Physical Agent Modalities

• Minimum Eligible Age: 19 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 34 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Russell Sage College

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Christine Mulligan

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Chris Mulligan

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Russell Sage College

Locations

Russell Sage College

Troy, New York, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

RussellSage

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id