Publications and
Papers of Dr Patricia Lee Bygrave
Bygrave, P. L. (1984). Music and
the slow learner. Australian Journal of Music
Education, 2, 7.
Bygrave, P. L. (1985). Music as
a cognitive developing activity: Implications
for learning and the learning disabled child.
M.Ed. thesis, University of Canberra, Australia.
Abstract:
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Various cognitive
learning theories have been examined for
the purpose of considering music as an activity
developing cognitive processes. It was felt
that an exploration of these theories could
offer insights into how music can be used
to demonstrate cognitive development in
learning and in children with learning disabilities.
In an attempt to illustrate the relationship
between music and cognition, concepts in
the theories of Piaget, the Neo-Piagetians
(Case, Pascaul-Leone, Biggs and Collis),
Bruner, Ausubel, Vygotsky, Luria and Leont'ev
have been discussed in association with
music activities. It is argued that music
can be identified as a cognitive activity
and applied to learning and to learning
disabilities through recognised special
education approaches: these include perceptual-motor,
multi-sensory, language development related,
developmental and behavioural.
The theories
of Vygotsky, Luria and Leont'ev the 'troika'
- are considered in greater detail. Their
theories, although focussing on concepts
of language in cognitive development, appear
to offer a means for the wider application
of music to cognitive development. Vygotsky's
developmental hierarchy, Luria's brain functional
system, and Leont'ev's theory of activity
have been amalgamated into a theoretical
framework demonstrating the processing of
information through music activity leading
to cognitive development. This framework
provides for an investigation into learning
capacities and learning potential, relevant
to cognitive development in learning and
in the learning disabled child.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1988). Music as
a cognitive developing activity: A theoretical
framework for investigating learning. (International
Society for Music Education XVIII Conference Abstracts,
Canberra, Australia, 1988, 6 ).
Abstract:
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The cognitive learning theorists from the Eastern world Vygotsky, Luria and Leont'ev, provide a new perspective to learning, different from that of Western world theorists. Vygotsky,s developmental hierarchy of conceptual thought processes, Luria's brain functional system which allows for interchangeability in cognitive processes, and Leont'ev's theory of activity. are each examined for their potential application in considering music as an activity for developing cognitive processes. A theoretical framework has been constructed for these theories, which illustrates how music as an activity can develop memory and cognitive processing. The implications for music learning are that such a framework could provide a new means for investigating music and its associated activity. This could give music credence as a cognitive developing discipline in education.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1989). The development
of a special music educator in Australia. In R.
R. Pratt (Ed.), Music therapy and music in special
education: The international state of the art
11 (pp. 8-16). St. Louis, MO: MMB Music.
Abstract:
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The special music educator is one concerned with the total development of the child in special education. By participating in musical activities, the child can acquire knowledge skills through the learning processes associated with music and develop a positive self-concept and personal value system within a social environment. The development of the author of this paper as a special music educator has occurred through fostering these qualities and by adapting her general training as a teacher and music educator to the field of special education.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1990). Music: A
cognitive developing activity. (2nd International
Congress for Research on Activity Theory Abstracts,
Lahti, Finland, 1990, 45 ).
Abstract:
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In considering
music as a cognitive developing activity
the theories of Vygotsky, Luria and Leont'ev
-the 'troika' -provide a different perspective
to learning through music from that of many
Western theorists. In the 'troika' approach
to learning, the concepts of consciousness,
memory, conditions of learning and cognitive
processes are regarded more in a social
context. Such a context blends with a music
educational setting.
A theoretical
framework can be constructed from components
of the 'troika' theories to illustrate how
music as an activity can develop memory
and cognitive processing. Vygotsky's developmental
hierarchy of conceptual thought processes
can be investigated by employing music as
the 'tool' or 'sign' to mediate information
processing from the primitive stage through
to the stage where external reactions are
internalised. Luria's brain functional system
practically demonstrates interchangeability
in simultaneous and successive processing
in cognitive activity; this has considerable
implications for learning in music education.
Leont'ev's theory of activity provides a
structure of units each examinable as a
separate functional unit within a whole
structure. Music as an activity can thus
be analysed with reference to actions, goals
and operations as entities or in a relationship.
The implications for childrens' learning
are that such a framework could provide
a new means for investigating music and
its associated activity. This could give
credence to music as a cognitive developing
discipline in the field of education.
Current research
being undertaken by the author in Australia
with learning disabled (L.D.) children aged
from four to nine years in special education
settings, has shown that participation in
a daily music program can lead to improvement
in L.D. children's cognitive processing
skills. Through musical activity the L.D.
children learned to recognise, discern,
differentiate and analyse sound. Auditory
discrimination, essential for literacy skills,
was developed and the visual, tactile, and
kinaesthetic modalities of learning were
stimulated and extended. Finally, the social
interaction between teacher child peer within
the music education environment would suggest
that such interaction, provided it is positive
and supportive, can also contribute to the
internalisation of knowledge.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1990). Relating
music to a special education setting in Australia.
(XIX International Society for Music Education
Research Commission on Music Therapy and Music
in Special Education Abstracts, Tallinn, Estonia,
1990, 2 ).
Abstract:
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Music programs
currently being undertaken in two special
education settings in Australia, support
the view that music in special education
is just as applicable as it is in general
education. Particular features evolve through
relating the reasoning of past and present
music educators for the purpose of music
education. Some of these features are the
improving of learning skills, the fulfilling
of social needs and the challenge offered
through musical education both for the child
in regular education and for the learning
disabled child.
This paper
is submitted for consideration for the Third
Research Seminar of the I.S.M.E. Commission
of Music Therapy and Music in Special Education,
30th July -3rd August, 1990.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1990). Journal Article - Musik Kultur, Interview
Abstract:
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An interview by Lars Nordstedt for Musik Kultur, a Swedish publication. titled 'En australiensare i Stockholm'. The article discusses aspects of Patricia's background of growing up in New Zealand. her international travels, and her teaching. studies and research relating to her PhD on 'Music and the development of listening skills in Children with learning difficulties'.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1990). Specific
programs to develop listening skills in children
in special education settings. Proceedings of
the Fourteenth National Conference of the Australian
Association of Special Education, Canberra: AASE
ACT Chapter.
Abstract:
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In recent years educators world-wide have noticed a decline in the development of childrens' listening skills -skills of attention, recall, and comprehension. For the child in a special education setting, lack of listening skills can be an identifying characteristic. In order to assess whether listening skills can be taught, learnt and developed, two specific programs were implemented over a period of thirty school term weeks in Junior Assessment Classes attached to four primary schools in the Australian Capital Territory with children ranging in age from 5 to 9 years; one program involved music and the other story-telling. Evidence from pre-, post-and post-post-testing, interviews and observations, indicates that the listening skills of the children improved through participation in the programs.
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Bygrave, P. L (1991). Music: A cognitive
developing activity. Australian Journal of Music
Education, 2, 22-29.
Abstract:
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This paper considers the theories of Vygotsky, Luria and Leont'ev, the 'troika', which offer a different perspective to learning from that of Western theorists. In considering music as a cognitive developing activity, a theoretical model can be constructed from components of the 'troika' theories to illustrate how music as an activity can develop memory and other cognitive processes. Mygotsky's developmental hierarchy of conceptual thought processes, Luria's brain functional system and Leont'ev's theory of activity can be integrated into a model wherein music as an activity can be examined either in its entirety or in a series of associative relationships. Such a model could provide a new means for investigating music and its associated cognitive activity and thus have significant implications for children'S learning.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1991). Music and
the development of listening skills in children
with learning difficulties. PhD thesis, Macquarie
University, Sydney.
Abstract:
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The study
reported in this thesis was derived from
an interest in the role of music for children
experiencing learning difficulties. This
interest was extended to determine whether
participation in music activities can facilitate
the academic, cognitive, and social development
of children with learning difficulties in
the classroom.
Information
in the literature indicates that music IS
a cognitively challenging activity involving
skills of attention, comprehension, memory,
problem solving, social, and listening.
A difficulty lies however, in accounting
for the acquisition of these skills through
music. This study utilised the skill of
listening, a component of music programs
in use in Australian schools, to examine
whether music activities could develop cognitive
processing skills in children with learning
difficulties. Two programs identified with
developing listening skills, a music program
and a story-telling program, were implemented
by teachers with students in Junior Assessment
Classes in the Australian Capital Territory.
The design of the study involved applying
the programs during an intervention period,
the administration of pretests, posttests
and postposttests to the students participating
in the study, and students selected as case
studies.
The results
from the experimental data indicated that
participation in regular music activities
by students with learning difficulties had
a positive effect on the development of
their receptive vocabulary skills, phonological
processing skills, and listening comprehension
skills. Observational data, and information
obtained about the case study students,
also indicated that participation in the
music activities provided opportunities
for active interactions leading to an improvement
in the social skills of the students.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1993). Listening in Music Education: An Analysis of the Listening Process. Paper presented to teachers.
Abstract:
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The development of appropriate listening skills in children is a current concern in music education in Australia. In addressing this concern, this paper considers theoretical aspects of listening and the place of listening in the cognitive process. Music and music listening also are discussed in the context of them being cognitive processes relevant to children involved in music activities. Factors pertinent to the development of listening skills in children are considered and listening, together with other cognitive skills that lead to the development of selective awareness skills in children, identified as underlying all activities in music education.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1994). Development
of listening skills in students in special education
settings. International Journal of Disability,
Development and Education, 41 (1), 51-60.
Abstract:
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Children in special education settings often lack appropriate listening skills. Two programs identified with developing listening skills. a music program and a storytelling program, were implemented by teachers with students in special education settings over a 30 week intervention period. A battery of tests measuring different aspects of listening such as receptive vocabulary, phonological processing, and listening comprehension, was administered to the students prior to the intervention period. at the end of the intervention period and again several weeks later. The results from the tests indicated that participation by the students in these programs had a positive effect on the development of their listening skills. The effects of the music and story-telling programs were not apparent until the postpost-pretest period suggesting that a longer time-period is required for a statistically significant music effect or story effect on the listening skills of students in special educacion settings to show.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1994). El desarrollo
de las habilidades del vocabulario receptivo a
traves del contacto con la musica. Boletin de
Investigacion Educativo-Musical, 1 (3), 4.
Bygrave, P. L. (1995/96). Development
of receptive vocabulary skills through exposure
to music. Bulletin for the Council of Research
in Music Education, (Special Issue), 127, 28-34.
Abstract:
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This paper focuses on the development of receptive vocabulary skills of students through a program of music activities. Four groups of children aged 6 to 9 years who were experiencing reading difficulties participated in two programs identified with the development of listening skills. The programs were implemented daily by class teachers over a 30-week intervention period. The students were rested prior to the intervention period, at the end of the intervention period, and finally 7 weeks later. The results from the tests indicated a significant effect on the receptive vocabulary of students participating in a music program. The effects of the music were not apparent until the postposttest period. This indicates that a longer time period is required for a statistically significant music effect to show on the receptive vocabulary of students with reading difficulties. The findings suggest that music may be an effective learning medium for aspects of language development such as receptive vocabulary skills, especially for students with reading problems.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1996). Activity
in a music program and the development of cognitive
processing skills. Proceedings of the Australian
Association for Research in Music Education XVIIIth
Annual Conference, Sydney, 33-38.
Abstract:
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Activity can be linked to observable behaviour and to cognitive skill development. This paper is based on a study which identifies the role of activity in a music program. During a 30-week intervention period. young students experiencing learning difficulties participated daily in a music program. Test data indicate that over this time the students developed cognitive processing skills of listening comprehension. The test results show a significant effect of the music program from the pretest to the posttest and the postposttest period. Observational data supplemented with data from teacher-diaries. lesson-ratings and teacher-interviews appear to qualify the test findings. It is concluded that participation in a music program of appropriate musical activities can develop cognitive processing skills in students with learning difficulties.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1997). Students
with learning difficulties: Skill development
through the music program. Proceedings of the
Australian Society for Music Education XI National
Conference, Brisbane, 48-53.
Abstract:
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Case studies involving eight students with learning difficulties aged 7-9 years were undertaken in four special education settings. Teachers predicted that four of these students would improve their listening skills through participation in a specific program and four students would not. At the end of a 30-week intervention period the students who participated in a music program, including those predicted as not likely to improve, showed improvement in listening skills and in academic, cognitive and social skills. The development of these skills also had a positive impact on the student's self-concept. Such findings suggest that skills learnt through a music program transfer to other areas of learning.
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Bygrave, P. L. (1998, July). Music
in cognition and students with learning difficulties.
Paper presented at the International Society for
Music Education Commission on Music in Special
Education, Music Therapy, and Music Medicine,
Capetown and Pretoria, South Africa.
Abstract:
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Students in special education settings generally are not exposed to a task-structured music program. These students also often lack the cognitive skills necessary for learning. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of skills associated with cognition through a music program. During a 30-week intervention period, students with learning difficulties in four special education settings participated in two different listening-orientated programs taught by their teachers. Test data indicate that over this time the students taking part in one of these, a music program, developed cognitive skills related to listening comprehension. A Significant positive effect of this program was shown from the pretest through to the postposttest. These findings suggest that a task-structured music program appears to develop cognitive skills such as listening comprehension, in students with learning difficulties.
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Bygrave, P. L. (2000). Music in
cognition and students with learning difficulties.
In D.Laufer, K. Chesky & P. Ellis (Eds), Music
as a human resource: Drafts and developments (pp.29-38).
Dohr.
Bygrave, P. L. (2000). Newspaper Article - Onsdagen Den, Interview.
Abstract:
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Patricia presenting a lecture on 'Why Music' to teachers in Ljusdal, Sweden. In the lecture she discusses some reasons for music in education, how children learn, and learning through music activities.
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Bygrave, P. L. & F. L. (2005). Australian Red Cedar and Other Meliaceae Species in Plantation. RIRDC publication number 04/135
Abstract:
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The rich resources of Australian red cedar (Toona ciliata var. australis), which
European immigrants found as they displaced Aboriginal Australians along the
northern two-thirds of Australia’s east coast, catalysed the colonial exploration
and exploitation of forests in this region. By the early 20th Century, red cedar had
been exploited to economic extinction in much of its range, and the embryonic
forest services in Queensland and New South Wales devoted effort in seeking to
re-establish the species on a commercial scale. Their considerable efforts, then
and subsequently, were defeated, almost without exception, by the cedar tip moth
(Hypsipyla robusta).
Australian red cedar is one of many species world-wide within the commercially
valuable tree family Meliaceae. During the 1980s and 1990s, increased interest
in restoration of the resources of other Meliaceae, similarly depleted by forest
conversion and unsustainable harvesting, prompted a higher level of activity in
research on the Meliaceae and their pests.
Fyfe and Tricia Bygrave, who enjoy the joint delights of being both academics and
farm foresters experimenting with red cedar, have contributed to this renewed
research effort in the terms they describe in this book. Their efforts, reported
here, should give us some hope that the cause of re-establishing Australian red
cedar —with consequent benefits for both ecological restoration and commercial
forestry—is an exciting challenge rather than a lost cause. We hope it will catalyse
further work with this signature Australian tree.
(Preface by Peter Kanowski, Professor of Forestry, The Australian National University, Canberra
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