Good News From the Math Classroom

by Kevin Burton

   Today on Page 7 we do the math.

   I found two math-related stories on the Good News Network. The first shows that students did better in math when music is incorporated into the lessons.

   “A new study explored the causal role that music engagement has on student achievement in mathematics—and they found a significant benefit.”

   “Researchers believe that music can make math more enjoyable, keep students engaged, and help ease their fear or anxiety about topics like fractions,” the story reads. “The addition of music may even motivate kids to appreciate math and want to learn more.”

   “A typical technique for integrating music into math lessons for young children involves clapping to songs with different rhythms learning numbers, and equating fractions to musical notes.”

   “The new meta-analysis published in the journal Educational Studies analyzed 55 studies from around the world, involving almost 78,000 students, from kindergarten to university age.”

   “Three types of musical interventions were included: typical music lessons in which children sing, listen to, and learn about composing music; learning how to play instruments alone or as part of a band; and music-math integrated interventions, where music was integrated into math lessons.”

   “Students took math tests before and after taking part in the intervention, and the change in their scores was compared with those who didn’t take part in any intervention. The use of music—whether in separate lessons or as part of math classes—caused a greater improvement in math over time.”

   “Combining both in the same lessons had the most significant effect, with around 73 percent of students who had integrated lessons doing significantly better than children who didn’t have any type of musical intervention.”

   “Also, 69 percent of students who learned how to play instruments and 58 percent of students who had normal music lessons improved more than pupils with no musical intervention. The results also revealed that music helps more with learning arithmetic than other types of math and has a bigger impact on younger pupils and those learning basic mathematical concepts.”

   “Math and music have much in common, such as the use of symbols and symmetry. Both subjects also require abstract thought and quantitative reasoning. Arithmetic may lend itself particularly well to being taught through music because core concepts, such as fractions and ratios, are also fundamental to music.”

   “Musical notes of different lengths can be represented as fractions and added together to create several bars of music. Integrated lessons may be especially effective because they allow pupils to build connections between the math and music and provide extra opportunities to explore, interpret and understand math.”

   “Encouraging mathematics and music teachers to plan lessons together could help ease students’ anxiety about mathematics, while also boosting achievement,” said Dr. Ayça Akın, from the department of software engineering at Antalya Belek University, Turkey.

   Also via Good News Network is the story of a boy who became a math genius after his mother taught him the abacus.

  “A British woman of Indian heritage thought a bit of ancient instruction might help her son tackle a modern problem,” the story reads.

   “Growing up in India, a young Dr. Rashmi Mantri used an abacus to help her visually comprehend mathematics. After noticing her son Dhruv was struggling with math, she started employing that same ancient tool to help him after school.”

   “In just six days he started to show progress with the abacus and would go on to become a regular whizz kid with numbers, with even his classmates’ parents reaching out for help.”

   “Dhruv has now landed an apprenticeship at international beverage firm Diageo and said he reckons his teachers would be shocked by the career choice considering his difficulties with math.

   “Dhruv was in [fifth-grade] when I started to notice he was struggling with simple [arithmetic,]” said Dhruv’s mom Dr. Mantri. “I would ask him something like 35 – 13 and he couldn’t do it.”

   “I never thought I would teach him using an abacus, but it was something I used as a child in India and it was always helpful. Within six days I started to notice a difference and see results.”

   “So dramatic was the turnaround, that school staff asked him to perform with the abacus at an assembly, where some parents even came to ask for advice on using it for their kids.”

   “In 2016 Dr. Mantri launched the British Youth International College (BYITC) and is now using her abacus tutoring to teach to thousands of kids around the world.”

   IT specialist Dr. Mantri said the humble abacus  can be used for calculations into the trillions and kids enjoy learning on it because it’s like a game.

   “I decided to change the way he looked at numbers,” she said. “An abacus is a tried and tested method. The Egyptians used them for building the pyramids.”

   “They become a playing tool for younger children, it feels like a game. I think the success comes because children can touch and feel an abacus and visualize them.”

   “By the age of 12, Dhruv was giving online cyber security seminars and is now pursuing a career in data science and analytics. During the four-year apprenticeship, he will spend one day a week studying Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Glasgow Caledonian University.