2. Area of Focus Statement The purpose of my study is to investigate if students are retaining reading information while listening to music through their earphones during a Biology class.

3. Qualitative Data: Student Questionnaires, student interviews, and observations. Quantitative Data: 5 multiple choice/fill in the blank test Every week, two or three students will be taken out of the classroom so I can conduct my research. Three Music Conditions: Passive, Active and No music. Data will be gathered starting from February 6, 2015 all the way through April 24, 2015.

4. I chose two sources that I believe they correlate closer to my action research which are: “Fast and loud background music disrupts reading comprehension” (Letnic, Schellenberg, & Thompson, 2011) and the “Effect of music on reading comprehension of junior high school students” (Anderson & Fuller, 2010). While the others do also correlate and are great sources, these particular two sources have music conditions that I will also be utilizing, reading material in general (not the same reading material), answering questions to the reading material, media multitasking which includes music, background music, and participants that includes teens.

5. With data teachers can suit the learning styles or needs of each student in the classroom. Material should not be learned in just one fashion but rather in diverse ways. Just because a student has a dominant learning style doesn’t mean that the other types can’t be improved.

6. Get consents (which are done) Students make list of their favorite and least favorite songs Select passages and music Create test and make sure they all have their own listening device A pre-test will be conducted with another group of students to ensure that the time allotted for the passage reading is sufficient. Every week, groups of 2-3 students will be removed from the classroom and they will undergo the research study of reading the passage while listening to their preferred genre. Once the passage has been read, each student will be given the 5-question test to be completed immediately after reading the selected passage. For ethical reasons, if any student should inquire about the results of their test that information will be provided for them once the tests are graded. The data following the tests will be quantified and organized using a graph.

7. This intervention fits within my philosophy of teaching because I have always held that the way children learn is just as important to know as what we teach them. In this case, a child’s learning style may be affected greatly by a number of things, and in today’s modern world, one of those variables will undoubtedly be personal technology; specifically, music players. Knowing how this affects each child is important because as teachers, we must know their preferred way of learning.

8. Everybody has the right to learn!

9. During the literature review, all of the participants signed consent letters agreeing to the research, and none were forcibly coerced into participating. Additionally, none of the participants were harmed in any physical, emotional or mental way. Results of the research were openly shared with all of the participants. Furthermore, none of the music utilized was offensive, meaning it did not contain any inappropriate language, have any offensive themes, nor did it contain any racial or demeaning slurs.

10. The study is being performed within the confines of a classroom setting, providing them with a safe learning environment; free from distractions. Each student will be constantly monitored All results will be confidential and not shared publicly Any ethical concerns that are discovered during the research process will be resolved prior to conducting the study to ensure no issues conflict with the objective of the study.

11. Participants varies greatly and includes a mixture of students from different socio-economic backgrounds and academic levels Ample time will be given to students when reading No pressure will be applied to any students Students are not being compensated Participants come from different backgrounds

12. Anderson, S., & Fuller, G. (2010). Effect of music on reading comprehension of junior high school students. School Psychology Quarterly, 25(3), 178-187. Retrieved January 17, 2015, from Ashford University Library: PsychINFO Research. Letnic, A., Schellenberg, E., & Thompson, W. (2011). Fast and loud background music disrupts reading comprehension.Psychology of Music, 40(6), 700-708. Retrieved January 17, 2015, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/230746037_Fast_and_lou d_background_music_disrupts_reading_comprehension http://www.researchgate.net/publication/230746037_Fast_and_lou d_background_music_disrupts_reading_comprehension Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.