Impact of Cell Phone Pick-Ups on Memorization in Singing

Objective: While research on multitasking and technology in the field of education is abundant, studies on the effects of cell phone use in classroom settings conducted over the past twenty years show conflicting results regarding technology’s impact on learning. Literature specifically addressing these topics within vocal pedagogy is lacking, and many existing studies rely heavily on anecdotal evidence. This research seeks to bridge the gap between findings in the educational field and anecdotal perspectives in vocal pedagogy by examining the relationship between number of cell phone pick-ups during a musical memorization task and accuracy of recall following task completion. Research questions include: 1) Do increased phone pickups result in lower accuracy scores for memory tasks in singers? 2) Is there a correlation between prompted/unprompted pickups and accuracy score in singers?

Methods: Two groups of five graduate voice students will be given forty-five minutes to memorize Vaccai’s Lesson XV in English. Each memorization session will be video- and audio-recorded to track the amount of time spent singing as well as the number of device pick-ups. Device pick-ups will be recorded as prompted or unprompted depending on whether they were preceded by a notification alert. The control group will be asked to leave their cell phones outside of the classroom during the memorization task. The experimental group will be asked to leave device notifications on for the duration of the memorization task and will be sent a total of five notifications via email and text over the course of the memorization task. At the end of the memorization task, participants will be asked to sing what they have learned and be graded on their accuracy of recall. Data analysis will compare accuracy scores with total number of phone pick-ups as well as prompted/unprompted phone pick-ups in the experimental group. Accuracy scores will also be compared with total time spent phonating in both groups.

Results/conclusions: Data collection and analysis are ongoing.

Merced Stratton, Master of Music of Vocal Pedagogy, Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
Jennifer Burks, Master of Music of Vocal Pedagogy, New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, MA
Kayla Gautereaux, MM, Assistant Professor of Voice, Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
Joshua Gilbert, PhD Student, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Instructor, Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
Megan Stahl, PhD, Associate Professor Theater, Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA