Effectiveness of Music Practical Examinations
Condition: Test Anxiety; Stress
Study type: Interventional

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.
    

Intervention name(s): Listening to music
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Students listened to background music during a practical examination of 60 bpm.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: One group was a control, one group received the intervention
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Other