Percepção de incongruências no contorno entonacional de frases e de melodias por crianças com, ou sem, treino musical

A prosódia está relacionada com a materialização da linguagem enquanto estímulo acústico. Constituem aspectos da prosódia a entoação, o ritmo, a intensidade e as pausas linguísticas (Ladefoged, 1982). Alguns destes aspectos são comuns à música. No caso da entoação da fala, esta é análoga à melodia em música. A prosódia de uma frase falada e a melodia de um trecho musical apresentam componentes estruturais muito semelhantes. O presente estudo aborda esta questão do ponto de vista psicológico. Trata-se de um estudo sobre a percepção de melodias e de prosódia, realizado no seguimento de Schön et al (2002), cuja problemática está centrada no contorno da frequência fundamental ( fo) da entoação em fala e da melodia em música. Pretendese averiguar se há ou não uma correlação entre a percepção prosódica e a percepção melódica; e se a aprendizagem musical pode potenciar o desenvolvimento da capacidade de percepção prosódica, nomeadamente no que diz respeito ao contorno entonacional. A metodologia empregue é comportamental (medida dos tempos de reacção, percentagem de repostas correctas e sensibilidade, d’). Os participantes do estudo são dois grupos de crianças do 4.º ano de escolaridade: um com aprendizagem musical desde o 1.º ano de escolaridade e outro sem aprendizagem musical formal. Os resultados indicaram que não existem diferenças significativas entre os dois grupos de crianças. Contudo, as crianças com melhor performance na tarefa musical, independentemente do grupo a que pertencem, são as que têm melhor performance na tarefa de linguagem. Este facto pode ser indicador de uma predisposição musical que pode influenciar o desenvolvimento da percepção das características entonacionais da linguagem

The Mozart effect on the episodic memory of healthy adults is null, but low-functioning older adults may be an exception

Literature on the effects of passive music listening on cognitive performance is mixed, showing negative, null or positive results depending on cognitive domain, age group, temporal relation between music and task (background music vs. music before task, the latter known as Mozart effect), or listener-dependent variables such as musical preference. Positive effects of background music on the two components of episodic memory – item and source memory - for verbal materials seem robust and age-independent, and thus deserve further attention. In the current study, we investigated two potential enhancers of music effects on episodic memory: stopping music before task performance (Mozart effect) to eliminate music-related distraction and using preferred music to maximize reward. We ran a main study on a sample of 51 healthy younger adults, along with a pilot study with 12 older adults, divided into low- vs. high functioning according to cognitive performance in a screening test. Against our expectations, Bayesian analyses showed strong evidence that music had no advantage over silence or environmental sounds in younger adults. Preferred music had no advantage either, consistent with the possibility that music-related reward had no impact on episodic memory. Among older adults, low- but not high-functioning participants’ item memory was improved by music – especially by non-preferred music - compared to silence. Our findings suggest that, in healthy adults, prior-to-task music may be less effective than background music in episodic memory enhancement despite decreased distraction, possibly because reward becomes irrelevant when music is stopped before the task begins. Our pilot findings on older adults raise the hypothesis that low-functioning older participants relate to prior-to-task auditory stimulation in deviant ways when it comes to episodic memory enhancement

Predictors of portuguese teachers' use of information and communication technologies in literacy classes

In the last years, the teaching and learning of literacy has changed due to the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The use of ICT in the classroom depends largely on teachers, who are the key players in its integration. However, several factors influence teachers’ decisions to use ICT in their classroom, both internal (e.g., self-efficacy) and external (e.g., school support). Indeed, despite the potential benefits of using ICT, not all teachers use them in their teaching practice. In the present study, we examined which are the main factors influencing teachers’ effective use of ICT in literacy classrooms. A total of 125 teachers lecturing Portuguese Language in grades 5–12 participated in this study (M = 50.00 years, SD = 7.88; 89% women). Teachers filled in an online survey, comprising sociodemographic questions (viz., age, gender, education, years of teaching experience, teaching level, school type, and geographical area) and four questionnaires related to ICT and teaching. Results showed that effective use of ICT was predicted by both internal (ICT’ self-efficacy and constructivist conception of teaching) and external (lack of access and support, and gatekeepers) factors. These findings may help in the identification of key targets to facilitate the effective use of ICT in literacy classrooms