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ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2012) — Tapping out a beat may help
children learn difficult fraction concepts, according to new findings due to be
published in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics. An innovative
curriculum uses rhythm to teach fractions at a California school where students
in a music-based program scored significantly higher on math tests than their
peers who received regular instruction.
"Academic Music" is a
hands-on curriculum that uses music notation, clapping, drumming and chanting
to introduce third-grade students to fractions. The program, co-designed by San
Francisco State University researchers, addresses one of the most difficult --
and important -- topics in the elementary mathematics curriculum.
"If students don't understand
fractions early on, they often struggle with algebra and mathematical reasoning
later in their schooling," said Susan Courey, assistant professor of
special education at San Francisco State University. "We have designed a
method that uses gestures and symbols to help children understand parts of a
whole and learn the academic language of math."
The program has shown tangible
results at Hoover Elementary School in the San Francisco Bay Area, where
Courey's study included 67 students. Half the group participated in a six-week
Academic Music curriculum and the rest received the school's regular math
instruction.
Students in the music-based program
scored 50 percent higher on a fraction test, taken at the end of the study,
compared to students in the regular math class.
Significant gains were made by
students who struggle with academics. The researchers compared the test scores
of lower-performing students in both groups and found that those who were
taught the experimental music curriculum scored 40 percent higher on the final
fractions test compared to their lower performing peers in the regular math
class.
"Students who started out with
less fraction knowledge achieved final test scores similar to their higher-achieving
peers," Courey said. "Lower-performing students might find it hard to
grasp the idea of fractions from a diagram or textbook, but when you add music
and multiple ways of learning, fractions become second nature to them."
The curriculum helps children
connect the value of musical notes, such as half notes and eighth notes, to
their equivalent fraction size. By clapping and drumming rhythms and chanting
each note's Kodaly names, students learn the time value of musical notes.
Students learn to add and subtract fractions by completing work sheets, in
which they draw musical notes on sheet music, ensuring the notes add up to four
beats in each bar or measure.
The program has also proven itself
at Allen Elementary School, a San Bruno public school -- not included in the
study -- that has been using the Academic Music program since 2007.
"Academic Music brings music
into the classroom and gets children to learn math in a different way that's
symbolic and not dependent on language," said Kit Cosgriff, principal at
Allen Elementary School, who introduced the program to help the schools'
diverse student body learn math in ways that are not language-based. The school
serves many students from low-income families, and 60 percent of students don't
speak English as their first language.
"In every lesson I've observed,
the children have been excited and enthusiastic about learning fractions,"
Cosgriff said. "It's a picture of what you would like every class to look
like."
Cosgriff believes the school's
recent jump in standardized test scores reflects the impact of Academic Music.
Since implementing the program for all third-grade math classes, the percentage
of third-graders who scored proficient or above on the California Standards
Test for math increased from 63 percent in 2006 to 70 percent in 2007 and 75
percent in 2008. On the California Achievement Test (CAT/6) for mathematics,
the percentage of third graders who scored at or above the national average
increased from 51 percent in 2006 to 72 percent in 2007 and 75 percent in 2008.
Academic Music is a 12-lesson
program that is designed to be taught by regular classroom teachers without the
help of a music teacher. Courey's next step is to publish curriculum materials
for teachers.
"We're suggesting that teachers
put music in their arsenal of tools for teaching math." Courey said.
"It's fun, it doesn't cost a lot, and it keeps music in the
classroom."
"Academic Music: Music
Instruction to Engage Third Grade Students in Learning Basic Fraction
Concepts" has been accepted for press in the journal Educational
Studies in Mathematics and will be published online next week.
Courey co-authored the paper with
Endre Balogh, director and lead music teacher at Toones Academic Music, and a
graduate of SF State's music education program (B.A. '06). Other co-authors
included Jae Paik, associate professor of psychology at SF State, and Jody R.
Siker, a graduate student in the SF State-UC, Berkeley joint doctoral program
in special education.
Story Source:
San Francisco State University (2012, March 22). Getting in
rhythm helps children grasp fractions, study finds. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved March 23, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2012/03/120322100209.htm#.T2xg5mqPmqs.blogger
