We have been overwhelmed with all the positive responses and the attention Minute of Listening received since we made it free during the current COVID-19 crisis.

As we all explore the benefits (and fun!) of listening together, we thought it would be interesting to share the outcomes of a research study done in Hull in 2017, when it was the UK City of Culture. Around 47 schools in the Hull City and East Riding catchment areas signed up to the Minute of Listening project, and the evaluation included an investigation for three of these schools.

In its analysis, the study identified the three types of listening as the following:

  1. Focused Listening: This is active and attentive listening to sound.
  2. Critical Listening: This is active, attentive, and analytical listening, usually involving some sort of problem solving or decision-making (Purdy, 1997).
  3. Listening to Others: This is where the children actively listen to each other during class discussion, in order to understand what is meant and why their classmate might see things in a particular way that is different from their own.

The study showed that engaging in focussed listening on a regular basis could potentially have a positive impact on concentration, aural information processing, and critical listening skills; not only in musical settings, but also other subjects.

Additionally– also very timely given the current crisis– one of the data sets found that there may be a positive relationship between pupils’ engagement with Minute of Listening and their wellbeing.

If you would like to explore the findings in more detail, you can read the full study here.

More news