Previous research has demonstrated a benefit of music training on a number of cognitive functions including verbal memory performance. The impact of school-based music programs on memory processes is however relatively unknown. The current study explored the effect of increasing frequency and intensity of classroom-based instrumental training…

The best research studies are more noteworthy for the issues they raise than for the questions they answer. Being informative is good; being heuristic is better. The two papers under consideration are heuristic as well as informative. Thus, Wong, Kasari, Freeman, and Paparella (2007) provide an answer to the question of what might influence the…

The essays included in this periodical focus on teaching elementary school children how to appreciate and how to write poetry. "Children, Poetry, and Memorization," by J.F.S. Smeall, outlines the historical basis, and perceptual limitations, of the use of print media alone in classroom instruction. Suggestions for encouraging children's recitation…