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Rhythm and Music Help Math Students
Credit: Brandon School Division
Stuck on a tricky math problem? Start clapping. Grade school kids who learned about fractions through a rhythm-and-music-based curriculum outperformed their peers in traditional math classes, according to "Academic Music: Music Instruction to Engage Third-Grade Students in Learning Basic Fraction Concepts," a study by Susan Joan Courey et al., published in Educational Studies in Mathematics.
Sixty-seven students participated in the study. Half did math problems using the Academic Music system, in which students clap, drum and chant to memorize the lengths of musical notes — then solve problems in which fractional notes must add up to a full measure of music. And after six weeks, the students in the music program averaged 50 percent higher on tests than did the kids in regular math class. Fractions create a solid foundation for further math education — so mastering them is music to educators' ears.
From Scientific American
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