Musical Mathematics Page 1

How to Integrate Music into my Mathematics Classroom

Signed: Shaniah Miller Date: 18/06/2018

Abstract

This action research project thesis discusses the elements that contribute to

the topic of ‘How to Integrate Music into my Mathematics Classroom.’ The paper

alludes to various experiences in my own schooling and recreational life that both

inspired and set me up to be passionate about seeing a creatively-centric

(mathematics) classroom come to fruition. Academic literature, coupled with

educator interviews serve to emphasise the practical components of musically-

integrated education. In-depth considerations of the components of music and how

these serve to meet academic needs, such as content retention, and utilising the

model to effectively invest in disability education are discussed. Action research, the

main thrust of this project, state observations and outcomes of the musically-

integrated education phenomenon at work, cementing the validity of ideas and

advocating for the outcomes of this project further. An action plan alludes to how the

musically-integrated education model will be implemented in my own future

classroom.
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Introduction

This action research project will seek to consider “How to integrate music into

my maths classroom.” It will interact with a selection of resources to induct the

reader into the academic world of music and mathematical sciences, and to

comprehend how these two disciplines interact within the learning process. Personal

interest in the topic will be expressed to orient the reader to the plight of the

intrinsically creative being in an academic world. Interviews with experienced

educators will be included to emphasise how the various elements of music

contribute to the learning experience, and to highlight how this musically-integrated

education model can be applied in disability education settings. The data collection

strategies of this project will be discussed in a practical sense to demonstrate how

research will be carried out in the primary classroom setting. Analysis of data

collected, pertaining to the effectiveness of teaching strategies will be discussed,

followed by an action plan of how I desire to see this model at work in my own future

classroom. Finally, concluding thoughts will be appended to the end of the paper,

followed by a reference list of academic sources cited and appendices of the ethics

approval statement and the educator-interview questions.

Personal Background/Context to the Study

Having grown up in a Christian, church-going family, I always attended

Christian education institutions - Australian private schooling and homeschooling,

and then proceeding onto higher education at a Christian institution: Alphacrucis

College. In that environment, I have always had God at the forefront of my mind and

education. Maintaining a place in the school choir, the high-school chapel band and
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church and College worship teams has been a staple outlet and recreational activity

for me as a person. I take pride in my musical training, and in being able to

effectively outwork my giftings for the glory of God. It should be stated early on in this

action research project that every endeavour and concept presented will be taken in

light of a student’s ‘walk with God.’ My personal philosophy of education is inherently

dependent upon positively investing into the lives of my students by striving to be a

Godly role-model and caring educator, and such that my students come away from a

learning experience enlightened by learning and loving God. I want the learning

experience to be stimulating for each child, especially for children that learn

effectively through the creative arts, particularly music.

Personal interest in this topic of integrating music into the classroom,

specifically the maths classroom, stems from primary-school memories involving

learning my maths times-tables to music. I still remember my times-tables, and I go

over their individual tracks in my head when working out mathematical problems.

The obvious examples of learning the ABC’s to the tune of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little

Star’, or the melodic poem of ‘30 days has September’ in learning the patterns of the

months, or identifying different parts of the body in ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and

Toes’ all contribute to the argument that coupling musical association with content

aids to create an effective learning experience.

Other references to this phenomenon come by way of the popular television

show Hannah Montana, when Miley Cyrus’ character choreographs the ‘Bone

Dance’ to the tune of her song ‘Nobody’s Perfect.’ Another example comes via my
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personal experience of learning how to count to eight in German, whilst coupling

those phrases with an interval-exercise taught to singers to help them warm up their

vocal chords (1, 1-2-1, 1-2-3-2-1, etc.). All of this to say that I truly believe that using

musical elements - i.e. melody, rhythm, rhyme, etc. - to cement content into a

student’s mind via creative association (musical, strategic movement, etc.) aids to

convey meaning in a memorable way. Noting all of the above examples, this topic

may be applied to a wide variety of topics and lesson material. However, this action

research project solely concentrates on identifying ways to, and assessing the

effectiveness of, using music in my maths classroom.

Literature Review

A look at academic literature reveals fascinating conclusions. Beginning with

the very roots of the phenomenon, studies conducted on the music and

mathematical disciplines reveal interesting deductions from historical philosophical

thought. Music and Mathematics: From Pythagoras to fractals (2006) quotes many

historical philosophers’ comments on the relationship between mathematics and

music such as H. Von Helmholtz, c. 1884:

“Mathematics and music, the most sharply contrasted fields of

intellectual activity which can be found, and yet related,

supporting each other, as if to show forth the secret

connection which ties together all the activities of our mind…”

This quote directly addresses the common thought that mathematics and music do

not correlate. However, continuing the exploration, Roberts (2016) states his findings

in relation to teaching complex mathematical content that “… the music motivates the
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mathematics.” (p. xii). In this way, it is evident that there is a desire for students to

engage with material in a creative way in order to learn the content.

David Wright (2009) presents his position on the topic, posing that his

understanding of music and maths are intricately inter-woven and that it is difficult for

him to separate the two in his mind (p. ix). He acknowledges that this is a rare mind-

state, and sets up his text to share his depth of understanding in the complex

connections between the two disciplines:

“Music concepts covered (in this text) include diatonic and

chromatic scales (standard and non-standard), intervals,

rhythm, meter, form, melody, chords, progressions, octave,

equivalence, overtones… (lists more) Mathematical concepts

covered include integers, rational and real numbers,

equivalence relations, geometric transformation, groups, rings,

modular arithmetic... (lists more) Each of these notions enters

the scene because it is involved one way or another with a point

where mathematics and music converge.” (p. x).

Wright’s extensive lists of various mathematical and musical functions examples to

the reader that there are wide-ranging relations between the two disciplines to be

explored.

The ‘other side of the coin’ is the supposition that listening to music may aid to

bring about a productive study session. Seidenberg (2017) researches further into

this case, critically reflecting on various studies aimed at determining whether

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‘background music’ adds to or hinders the learning experience. He passionately

corrects the wide-spread false concept which states that listening to Mozart while

studying increases one’s IQ (para. 1). Pertaining to the former aspect of the paper,

Seidenberg references several studies that dealt directly with the affects of music on

productivity in the classroom and work spaces, but he does not come to any

educated conclusions. Kuepper-Tetzel’s (n.d.) and Hallam, Price and Katsarou

(2002)’s study engages with similar concepts to Seidenberg’s. They consider variants

such as different genres of music, different personalities of participants in the

experiments and consideration of the task at hand in contributing to the outcome

(para. 5). Overall the conclusion reached is that “It depends!” (para. 7). Throughout

various studies, and interacting with copious amounts of information, the outcome

can never be predicted, however Hallam, Prince and Katsarou maintain the position

that “positive effects of background music have been found and it may certainly be

worth trying it out.” (2002, para. 7).

Another way that music is widely used in the primary classroom is to provide

students with behavioural cues, or signals via specific music tracks, to move onto the

next activity. Alegria poses that this “… helps them begin to take responsibility for

their own learning.” (para. 1). Coupled with activity-related uses, a popular resource

called ‘GoNoodle’ is a program designed to provide students with ‘brain breaks.’

Brain breaks strategically integrate music and movement in order to help students to

‘take a break’ from the task at hand and to burn some energy in order to come back

with a fresh thought-space and new energy.

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Reigning the focus back in from the wider discussion involving the relationship

between music and maths, the aim of this action research project is to determine

whether integrating music into teaching maths content is an effective and worth-while

teaching method. Alegria (2017) reassures the musically unconfident educator,

confirming that utilising music in the teaching process does not require special

training or access to expensive resources (para. 1). She explains the plight of my

study, eloquently stating:

“Music is one tool to engage each student and provide a

pathway for connections and deeper understanding. Songs are

essentially poems, and have a lot of meaning packed into a few

words.” (para. 5).

With that being said, it is evident that music - and at the very least, tactically and

purposefully authored content which is put to music or contains melodic undertones

(poems, etc.) - is an effective tool for teaching for retention using musical

association.

A final selection of studies deal with recognising and catering for multiple

intelligences and varying learning styles. Silver, Richard and Perini (2000)

understand the importance of the integrated classroom overall: “… integrated

learning strives to create an environment where all learners feel that their ideas,

contribution, and work are valued, and that they are able to succeed.” (p. 3).

Teaching information to students in a way that is acceptable and comprehendible to

them individually greatly assists in the overall learning process. Utilising Howard

Gardener’s (1983) research, Silver, et al. (2000) list how the various personality
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profiles and multiple intelligences receive and deal with information, and it becomes

very apparent that there is no one way to teach that applies to the effective

education of all students (p. 13). This conclusion reinforces the idea that using

music in a lesson will help students (at least those who are musically-oriented)

connect with information effectively and in a way that is not always offered to them.

Educator Interviews

Noting that I had discussions with various educators and pre-service

teachers on the subject of integrating music into the mathematics classroom, I also

conducted a couple of formal interviews. Two educators’ views in particular, who

were included in the formal interviewing stages, will be discussed in this portion of

the paper. The first educator, Rev. Dr. Daniel Thornton, a personal role-model and

mentor of mine, is the head of the Music and Creative Arts Department at

Alphacrucis College. Daniel has accumulated decades of experience in the music

industry, yet he remains a humble, gracious and servant-hearted pastor. During his

childhood years, he pursued music as a recreational activity, eventually

commencing studies at the Conservatorium of Music. Daniel is an acclaimed

musician and vocalist, having produced numerous solo albums (mostly for the

Christian Worship genre) including both ‘covers’ (producing arrangements of non-

original music) and original music. He has performed on Broadway, and has been

heavily involved in various projects including the musical scoring processes of

multiple stage-productions. Among his many achievements, for a period of time, Dr.

Daniel also owned and taught at his music school, interacting with students of all

ages, enhancing their musical abilities through his tutelage.

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The interview with Rev. Dr. Daniel brought about innumerable ideas and

conversations about various elements at work in music integrated education. The

key facets that contribute to this project will be highlighted, putting in brief the rich

content of our discussion, and including references to the other complex functions

at work in teaching mathematics musically. A list of the questions asked in these

formal interviews can be found in Appendix B at the close of the paper. To begin the

interview, my first question to Daniel was, “What does music integrated education

mean to you?” His response revolved around this idea of “Human beings are

musical beings.” - whether that is expressed in creative outworkings of musicality, or

simply through the enjoyment of listening to music, humans are inherently musical

beings. Each person contains some innate sense of appreciation for music (a

generally accepted notion).

He continued, saying “… with regard to education, music is useful for

teaching us in any sphere. It has absolutely got didactic capacities. When we

attach words to music, it is a mnemonic device, so we remember things better. But

also, even if we don’t remember the words, music has a way of making something

more palatable.” Already, Daniel has brought up three highly significant functions of

music that are at work in the educational setting. The first facet is the ‘didactic

capacities’ that music contains. By definition, from the Collins English Dictionary

(1994), didactic refers to “Something that… is intended to teach people

something…” (no page). Secondly, ‘mnemonic’ components allude to the

assistance of music in aiding memory/content retention. A ‘mnemonic,’ by definition

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from the Collins English Dictionary (1994), is “a word, short poem, or sentence that

is intended to help you remember things such as scientific rules or spelling rules.

For example, 'i before e, except after c' is a mnemonic to help people remember

how to spell words like 'believe' and 'receive'.” (no page). These two elements of

music - its didactic and mnemonic capacities - are hugely impactful in creating

(Daniel’s third noted significant facet of music in education) a palatable learning

experience. Daniel articulated the phenomenon where someone hears a song, and

the lyrics might actually be quite offensive. Yet hearing the song sung (paired with

music), it somehow allows the person to be able to put/accept the words in a

different context. As for these elements showcasing in the musical-mathematics

classroom, Daniel emphasises “Music integrated education may make things that

are mundane, interesting. It might make things that are difficult, more easily

absorbed. And it might make simply mundane things more fun. More exciting!”

Moving forward in the conversation, the second question I asked Dr. Daniel

was “How do you see music being utilised effectively in the primary classroom?” He

responded saying that music may be utilised “Both in the specific and in the general.

Music can be used specifically for the content (ie. the alphabet), and it can also be

used generally for creating an environment where the students might want to learn

more because there’s fun music that’s happening/it’s accompanying their activity.” At

this point, I drew on the research from studies into the effects of background music in

the learning environment (studies referenced above in literature review). Daniel

added to this, talking about the quality of timing in music as having an effect on the

way that students perceive how the time is flowing: “Music can make us feel like time

is moving very slowly, it can also make us feel like time is moving very quickly. So,
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perhaps (when doing) something that might otherwise feel like it’s going to take a

long time, music may actually help to shift the way that we are experiencing that

time. I think that is why a lot of people employ music for things like studying, because

it makes the studying (period) more palatable and (you can) move along.” In this

way, especially in the cases of students (some even with disabilities) who experience

anxiety when it comes to timing and needing the assurance of time-slots for the

day’s planning, music may help the students to relax more. Indeed, music can be

utilised effectively to convey any mood in the classroom i.e. upbeat, serene,

productive, etc. I will allude to personal observations of this phenomenon later in the

paper.

Delving deeper into the elements at work in music, Daniel also picked up on

the fact “We think of music as involving both melodic content and rhythm, and

perhaps harmonic content. However, (as per the example I gave) “30 Days has

September, June and November. All the rest have…” - that is a poetic device. But

poetry and music go (together) - lyrics and poetry - they’re not far from each other.

You’ve got rhythmic elements - there’s a 4/4 bar there - so even rhythmic and

melodic stuff, that side of music, is important.” Recognising the pace and rhythmic

progressions in rule-of-thumb sayings - such as with the aforementioned ‘30 Days

has September’ poem, and other sayings like “i before e except after c - but only

when it sounds like bee!”, “An island is land in the middle of the water,” “A cat has

claws at the end of its paws. A comma’s a pause at the end of a clause.” (Allen via

the Oxford Royal Academy, 2014) - is important in order to acknowledge the

relationship and musical-interrelatedness of poetic, even in instances that do not

involve instrumental elements.

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Returning back to the ideas of content retention (music containing didactic

and mnemonic elements), I asked Daniel if he had any specific examples of this

happening in his own experience. He recalled the fact that he remembers his own

children learning their times-tables through song - exactly the way that I did

(mentioned in my introductory section towards the beginning of this paper)! He

alluded to the fact that so much resources are available and accessible now,

through the internet, YouTube, etc. and even in the sense that teachers who are

musically inclined could use their ability to facilitate learning in a creative way.

Following the end of the interview, Dr. Daniel sent me a link to a YouTube video,

labelled ‘Math Dances 2011’ by theinspiredclassroom, of a class that

choreographed actions which depicted knowledge of mathematical content to a

backing track. While taking turns in groups, the children sung in phrases that

alluded to various mathematical operations and syllabus content (cited in the

Reference List).

Thinking practically about the use of music in the mathematics classroom, I

asked Daniel, “Do you believe that all students have the ability to connect with

content in this manner (through music)?” His conclusions were informed by taking

the individual student’s upbringing, etc. into account: “There are certainly children

who are more inclined to do so, because of their own upbringings. I’m sure there are

some innate musical giftings that exist, but it does seem to me that (in those crucial

first five years of life) if kids are either in musical families or are surrounded by lots of

music, they inevitably connect better.” In that way, Daniel was able to relate this
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intentional facilitation of early-music awareness to a program that he ran at one of

his music schools, “I remember when we had one of my music schools, we had

‘BeBopper’ which was basically 2-3 year-olds, and we would just get them together

and do actions “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes” (this sort of thing), connecting to

music: less so to musical outcomes - ie. “you need to learn crotchets, quavers and

‘middle C’” - and more to life experience… we shake hands, we say hello, we move

around - and all of that was done with music.”

Within that space, it is noted that (of course) the earlier that someone

interacts with music and pursues a consistent interaction and gradual build up of

skills, the more proficient they will become at a younger age. Activity for infants in

this environment, a casual setting where it is not necessarily musical skill that is

sought after, but simply enactment of ‘everyday activities’ performed to music,

would bring about a heightened awareness of music, associated with performing

‘tasks.’ Accordingly, Daniel posed that “perhaps, the younger you get the kids doing

that, the more they will connect with that (later on).” I continued the thought, relating

these ideas to the classroom setting, and asked if Daniel concurred that, in relation

to Howard Gardners’ (1993) acknowledged musical intelligence, musically inclined

students, then, have grown up around more music, or have come from music

heritage. He concluded, saying “more often than not, that has been my

observation.”

With all that being said, however, Dr. Daniel acknowledged that there will not

readily be too many people who hate music. He continued, “Even the most non-
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musical people still love certain types of music. Whereas, I don’t think that would be

said of some of the other intelligences - some people are always going to be more

‘feelers’ than ‘thinkers’ - but at least, if you’re not asking people to reproduce music,

but you are simply asking them to enjoy it, I think that is all humanity.” Again, these

recurring ideas of music being a fundamental part of the human make-up serve to

reiterate the issue that this action research project is aiming to promote: Why, then,

is music - a most valuable and inherent function of humanity - not more recognised,

utilised or appreciated on a larger scale for what it can bring to the educational

experience?

Music in education, as mentioned before, is not only limited to it’s melodic

elements. Daniel also emphasised that, “We tend to think of music in its aural

capacity, as in we hear it, but actually music is experienced. It is felt bodily,

especially the louder the music is, and/or how rhythmic the music is (ie. with drums)

- we actually feel that. I think that is probably an underdeveloped side of

education where kids do a lot of sitting at tables - sitting, being quiet, doing work -

but maybe music could be experienced more normally, and that is physically

engaged in as well, which I think would help kids who have different intelligence -

the very kinetic type of intelligences.” Education is extremely logical and academic-

centric, traditional teaching models do not cater for creativity or musicality,

classically remaining “a one way traffic flow of ideas” (Sidhu, 2006, p. 66) and not

leaving much room to cater for different learning styles. In this way, “students…

remain inattentive during the lecture. They remain passive… experimentation is

totally neglected.” (p. 68). In this setting, the logical, academic approach to learning
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and teaching downplays the existence of creative modes to achieving academic

standards.

In conclusion, the educator interview with Dr. Daniel concluded with

supportive comments about the importance of a study like this on

creative/musically-integrated education. Daniel surmised “that too much of our

thinking about creative arts is to put them (students) in a particular space, under a

particular curriculum. I don’t think that creativity… in terms of the arts (and other

avenues) was ever meant to be relegated to a syllabus. I think that the arts - as an

expression and as an experience - not just music… have deeper ways to connect

us to knowledge. So, I really like the idea that music would be one of those ways…

most kids are exposed to a certain type of music, and one of the things that

education does is that it expands our minds in many directions. I do think that

whatever we get exposed to enough, we get a greater understanding and

appreciation of - even if it doesn’t become our ‘preferred thing.’… if all we ever

expose them to is what’s familiar, we haven’t given them the blessing of a bigger

picture of a bigger world…” So too, being able to recognise the worldwide,

multicultural appreciation of music in its many forms, languages, genres, etc. may

aid to minimise the gap and to bring an awareness/element of unity between people

all over the world: We are all human, inherently creative beings.

The second educator interview that I specifically wanted to reference in this

paper was with a retired early-childhood and specialised disabilities educator. This

lady is a long-term family friend, and she has known me all my life. I attended the
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pre-school that she owned in my early-childhood years, and she has invested into

my life ever since then, especially in recent years as I have been training as a pre-

service teacher. I will maintain her anonymity in this paper, referring to her as

Elanora. Elanora has spent many decades in various schools, pre-schools and then

her own pre-school. She educates with a passion for maintaining unconditional love

for each student that she works with, and promotes a safe and secure learning

environment. Particularly with reference to disability education, Elanora worked with

many students with wide-varying disabilities - some not able to talk, others who

were hearing impaired and still others with blindness, Autism, Asperger’s

Syndrome, the list goes on. With her experience in mind, I asked Elanora the same

set of questions that I asked Dr. Daniel. However, in this section, I will only be

alluding to elements of musically integrated education as they relate to the

disability-education setting, as this is Elanora’s specialist area. There is less content

in this discussion, compared to in Daniel’s interview, simply because he was able to

delve deeper into the technicalities of music, and to speak eloquently and broadly

into those main arguments of this action research project.

To begin, Elanora answered the first question “What does music integrated

education mean to you?” by highlighting various outcomes of a music-integrated

learning experience. She alluded to the fact that this form of education strengthens

emotional and cognitive development, adding that it is a means of expression of

learning through listening. Especially in light of younger children, and children that

she has worked with in her experience, she added that “Making sounds becomes a

magical (learning) experience.” In this way, Elanora is highlighting the role of music

in creating a space to perform outwardly expressions of inward understanding.

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As for notions of music in enabling content retention, Elanora agreed that

music (sounds) can be repetitive, together with literacy - meaning that

understanding may be formed with the aid of musical helps, through the repetitive or

consistent nature of music and by being able to associate and ‘regurgitate’ learnt

content with that consistent and creative manner. Therefore, as she concluded,

aspects of rhyme and repetition have direct “connection to their minds.” When

asked if she had any specific examples of this phenomenon at work, Elanora

recounted various instances of music aiding understanding, again alluding to the

effective strategy of learning times-tables to music. With relation to the use of music

in disability education, Elanora emphasised some incredible realities: deaf students

respond to vibrations, Autistic children’s behaviour becomes relaxed when they are

exposed to various forms of music. These instances are stark indications of music-

integrated education not being limited to simply melodic sounds and spoken word in

lesson material, but vibrations/sound waves (alluded to by Dr. Daniel) have an

impact on student learning, and music can assist in setting the expectation and

atmosphere for learning.

Eleanora continued, posing that: 1) music has the ability to enable/assist

students to study (this has allusions to aforementioned studies achieving an efficient

environment for learning); 2) music has the ability to alter body language (this has

references to the aforementioned role of music in being able to alter the mood of

students according the ‘feel’ that the music conveys; 3) referencing Howard

Gardner, “Music (has) long (been) accepted as an important feature in the lives of
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young people.” All of these things, she views, evidence that music inspires children.

Therefore, the challenge is there for the taking: why should teachers not adapt

content and create educational environments that are culturally relevant, enjoyable

and truly engaging for their students? Whilst sure not to create a chaotic or

unsettling environment - one where there is not a respect for music and what it can

contribute to the educational experience - or letting students take advantage of

opportunities for creativity, this endeavour to employ music-integrated education on

a wider scale, especially in the mathematic sphere, can only serve to provide a

heightened learning experience.

Methodology

Having interacted with various voices on the topic of music-integrated maths

education, the paper now moves onto discussing the methodology on how this was

practically assessed in a classroom setting. Whilst qualitative research is helpful in

understanding the individual person/s being assessed and the different variants that

they ‘bring to the table’, it breeches too many social and privacy boundaries for this

research situation - especially in this case where it is applying to underage children.

The qualitative research method requires intensive levels of ethics approval which

are unnecessary to go through. I am able to determine the effectiveness of this

project overall, utilising less intrusive means to collect data, utilising a quantitative

research method.

Locke, Silverman and Wyrick’s (2010) perception of the quantitative data-

collection/analysis method is that “In quantitative research, we enter a world that is

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defined by amounts… Accordingly, the primary language of discourse here is that of

numbers.” (p. 91.). By way of maintaining anonymity throughout data collection, the

students that are the subjects of my study were able to express their opinions as a

whole group, rather than in one-on-one interviews or individual surveys. In this way,

I will be dealing with ‘numbers’ when recording the reactions of the group.

Accordingly, Williams and Monge (2001) pose that “Simple statistics such as

means, ranges, relative percentages, and correlation coefficients would be

valuable.” (p. 4). These modes of data collection and interpretation through

examination of results (via references to the whole number of the group, rather than

each student individually) is the way that this action research in this project has

been conducted, and how its data has been collected.

Data

During my second Professional Experience placement at a Christian private

school near my local area, I was able to observe and take note, first-hand, of the

phenomenon of music-integrated activities in mathematics education: how it affected

1) content retention, 2) the classroom dynamic and 3) how it inspired creativity in the

students. As mentioned above in the methodology brief, the students from which the

following data was taken from were a Kindergarten class. To avoid breeching any

ethical boundaries towards the ‘test-subjects,’ any reference to these students will be

as a whole class, i.e. percentages of outcomes, observations of particular elements

of the students’ personalities which showcased in the data collection process, etc.

No personal information, names or otherwise will be revealed so as to maintain

privacy.
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Before proceeding into the test observations, some brief context should be

discussed to provide the reader with understanding prior to consideration of

outcomes. In this particular Kindergarten class, with an age range of 4-6 years of

age, 12 out of the 14 students had some sort of learning or behavioural disability,

whether that was ADHD, or if they were somewhere on the autism spectrum, or had

various other kinds of social/emotional conditions, etc. The students were from a

variety multicultural backgrounds, there were Anglo-Australian, African, Middle-

Eastern, Asian and European students. Each maintained varying language abilities.

The action research observation period took place in Weeks 2 and 3 of Term

2, 2018, and the curriculum content that the students were working on was learning

numbers from 1-20 - being able to count forwards to 20 (and beyond), and

backwards from 10. The lesson from which the observations were taken was a

lesson on working with numbers counting backwards from 10. Up to this point, the

mathematics lessons had the students working with various materials in recognising

number value and order/placement, utilising building blocks, counters and ten-frame

charts, number-card matching games, activity books, etc.

The lesson began with a short period of verbal instruction, recounting

information and content learnt in previous lessons (reminiscent of Ausubel’s 1963

and 1968 ‘Meaningful Learning Theory’), with reference to wall charts depicting

numbers to 20 in numerals, words and a visual depiction of counters in a ten-frame,

and the students used the aids of their fingers and the wall-posters to count up to
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and back down from 10. Then the musical element came in. Colin Buchanan’s ‘10, 9,

8 God is Great!’ was played as a means to assist the students to cement the order of

the numbers counting backwards from 10.

The majority of the students were already familiar with the song (having grown

up in church and hearing it in kids ministry settings), however there were a few who

did not know the words. Either way, it was beneficial to the students and exciting to

both me and my Mentor teacher (the classroom teacher) to watch the ‘lightbulb

switch on’ in their heads as they realised the correlation between what they had

been learning, informing and relating to what they were now singing! The students

excitedly sang through the whole song, clapped (out of time, admittedly) in the

correct sections and enthusiastically leaped into the air on the cue of ‘Blastoff!’

(reached zero on the countdown). The students enjoyed the musical time and

wanted to sing through the song again when it ended.

Whilst the students enjoyed the time overall, several of the students (roughly

20%) were noted to not desire to participate as much as the others, and became

overwhelmed by the high-pitched shrieks and squeals of enjoyment coming from

their peers. These students, however, did not refuse to participate, but did so in a

more reserved manner, staying on the outskirts of the bustling majority-group. As for

effectiveness of assisting the students to learn and retain content via a creative

mode of delivery, the outcome was 100%. Each student was able to recite numbers

descending from 10, and they continued to sing the song lyrics even as they were

doing their book work at desks.

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Analysis

At a later date, in a group setting, I ‘tested them’ on their memory of the song

(indeed, actually assessing them to establish what level the content of the song was

retained). The students jumped at the task, singing each of the words and numbers

in order, excitedly doing actions, clapping and jumping, just as how they had done in

the initial lesson. Retention was at 100% while reciting the numbers as a group, only

lowering a fraction to about 90% when tested one-on-one. This outcome

demonstrates the fact that (in this setting, with these students), music-integrated

mathematical instruction - with adapted content to include musical elements - greatly

contributed to the learning process.

With reference to learning outcomes prior to when musical elements were

introduced, roughly 65-70% of the students were still struggling to recite numbers in

descending sequence from 10. However, once ’10, 9, 8 God is Great’ was

introduced, it significantly boosted the students’ abilities to meet the outcome-

expectations. Other components in the learning experience, such as student

confidence levels is integral to note in this instance also. Most of the students were

not confident, nor did they have the tools to facilitate learning. But with the

introduction of a fun and creative learning element, the students responded positively

and soaked up the experience ‘like a sponge.’ Later in the term, when conducting

mathematical assessments with the students, the results showed that students

overall had more confidence and had increased in their ability to recite numbers to
 Musical Mathematics Page 23

20 (and beyond), and to count down from 10 - both at increasing difficulties, catering

for varying student ability.

At another point during my time at the school, I sat in on one of the RFF

(single-period-substitute) teacher’s lessons on the Bible. The teacher verbally talked

through the concept of the lesson, referring to Biblical applications and examples,

and he involved the students in the discussion, getting them to engage with the

ideas, and asking them questions that fuelled their critical thinking skills. Retrieving

ideas from the students, the teacher drew pictures on the board that represented

various concepts alluded to in the lesson - these were example illustrations for the

students to copy into their books. When group time closed, and the students were

sent to their desks to commence writing and drawing pictures as instructed, the

teacher put on a long YouTube clip of calm acoustic music that had light playing of

instruments, but no words.

During this time at their desks, the students worked on their writing in such a

quiet manner, I did not hear one word from a student unless they spoke to the

teacher. The music truly set the atmosphere for learning, providing a calm and

serene setting for the students to work in that did not distract them or encourage

them to talk. I did not witness a comparative lesson to this one - that being that I had

not before that point, and did not after that lesson, experienced the students behave

in such a quiet and peaceful manner. It was incredible to witness first-hand what

extreme effects music can have on the learning experience and environment.
 Musical Mathematics Page 24

This time of action research was a success, and the outcomes and

observations served to emphasise the position being advocated for in this paper.

Musically-integrated learning and teaching in mathematics is a ferociously

underplayed and underrated resource that exceedingly appeals to early-childhood

and primary aged-students. High school-aged students may also benefit greatly from

musically-adapted content, however, outcomes may vary depending on numerous

other elements that are not encountered at a primary-stage level. Indeed, just as Dr.

Jim Twelves emphasised to me, I believe that this approach to education taps into

specific components of student development. Other schools and teachers may

choose to ignore the pertinence of this concept, that is their loss. I fully intend on

conducting my mathematical (and otherwise) classroom in a powerfully and

consistently music-integrated manner.

Action Plan

In reflection on everything written in this action research project thesis thus

far, it is beneficial to examine how myself and my personality comes into play. With

anything - any research, any experience, and observation - one always has to be

mindful of the biases, intended or not, in everything. Every author has a motive

behind their argument, and depending on the research and sources that are drawn

on, and the varying biases of those arguments in turn, one must always be mindful of

ascertaining the truth of the matter without taking on someone else’s bias. With that,

inevitably my own personality and views contribute greatly to this action research

project. My personal background and history with music training, coupled with

experiences of music-integrated education, and other occurrences throughout my

 Musical Mathematics Page 25

academic life have motivated me to choose this topic and delve into the world of

research and data in order to promote a change that I personally desire to see in

schooling.

My personal philosophy of education (as stated in my Action Research

Exercise assignment for Maths A, submitted 10/06/2018) “is three-fold: I want to be

able to teach students in a way that is relevant to them, that embraces their

individual giftings - especially creative-arts giftings, as these hold a special place in

my heart - and that reflects the truth of a loving Creator God who is in everything. I

value Howard Gardner’s (1993) recognition of multiple intelligences and learning

styles, this helps to inform me of how to adjust lesson material to be applicable to

individual students. Additionally, an important aspect to facilitating meaningful

learning experiences involves the recognition that “Students… come to learning

situations with already formulated knowledge, ideas, and understandings. This

previous knowledge is the raw material for the new knowledge they will create.”

(EBC, n.d., para. 2).

Various authors honour Ausubel’s (1968) ‘Meaningful Learning Theory’ which

takes a network of already established concepts in a student’s understanding, and

adds to it constantly and consistently. A learning experience must acknowledge the

already known information in order to build upon it by connecting new information to

that pre-established understanding. Sidhu (2006) poses that to ‘synthesise’ in

learning “is to place together things that are apart. It starts with something that is

already known and connects it with the unknown part...” (p. 82). In my future

classroom, I desire to cater all teaching endeavours to the current understanding of

 Musical Mathematics Page 26

students and to offer progressive and consistent content to them, in order for

learning to become a meaningful experience.

Accordingly, I envisage that my future mathematics classroom would be most

reminiscent of the constructivist classroom, with elements of musical-integration in

lesson material. I want to provide my students with necessary learning material, to

build their confidence/independence and to encourage use of resources available to

them. Each lesson would begin with a small section of teacher-delivered content.

Next, students would be provided with time to actively solve mathematical problems.

Using all available resources, group/peer interaction and the (earlier) taught

mathematical function, the students will use their time to answer the problem.

Teacher guidance and additional instruction will always be available when needed.

Finally, the whole class would reconvene to discuss the outcomes of the

learning time and each student’s findings. Self-reflection will be especially

encouraged in order to consider how pieces of information were dealt with - either

added to personal knowledge or discarded. In this way, I would remind the students

that the processes of critical analysis and exercising of wisdom, in deciphering what

information is relevant and what is not beneficial to us, is how Christians must

function in this world. Just as people must utilise our skills in mathematics to find

what is helpful, so too Christians, with the help of the Holy Spirit, are to be perceptive

of information and incoming ‘worldy’ messages, in order to decide if it is beneficial to

us, or if it should be rejected.”

 Musical Mathematics Page 27

In my dream classroom, students have a mutual respect for the teacher, for

each other and for the individual and specialist giftings that God has given each

student to possesses. In my dream classroom, mathematics will never be a boring

topic, consisting solely of a lecture-based information session and followed by

independent problem solving. No, in my classroom, musical creativity will be drawn

on in order to facilitate meaningful and relevant learning of concepts in a fun and

‘palatable’ way. In my dream classroom, God’s peace will reside - whether that is by

setting the learning atmosphere with serene background music, or by maintaining a

high standard of expectation, probably both. In my dream classroom, the students

will enjoy their time learning, they will be reminded of what an extreme blessing and

privilege it is to receive education, and they will not leave my classroom unchanged

or without feeling more loved or validated creatively. Most importantly, they will know

and experience the love of God for themselves in my dream classroom.

 Musical Mathematics Page 28

Conclusion

This action research project thesis has discussed the elements that contribute

to the topic of ‘How to Integrate Music into my Mathematics Classroom.’ Beginning

with a brief personal background story, the paper alluded to various experiences in

my own schooling and recreational life that inspired me to pick this topic. These

experiences set me up to be passionate about seeing a creatively-centric

(mathematics) classroom come to fruition. The discussion proceeded into a literature

review of voices on the topics of mathematics education and how music can

positively enhance and compliment the learning phenomenon.

Educator interviews, with both a music specialist educator and an early-

childhood and disability specialist educator, served to emphasise the practical

components of musically-integrated education. These interviews individually spoke

volumes into the argument. They included in-depth considerations of the

components of music and how these serve to meet academic needs, such as

content retention, in order to cultivate a well-rounded learning experience. The

second interview specifically considered music-integrated education in light of how it

may be utilised more effectively in disability education. This education model is not

limited to melodic and lyric capacities of music, but that other elements such as

quality of sound and vibration also contribute to the learning experience.

The practically-demonstrated thrust of this action research thesis, the data

and analysis sections, stated observations and outcomes of the musically-integrated

education phenomenon at work. Recurrent themes from academic research and

 Musical Mathematics Page 29

educator interviews related to what I had experienced with the action research class

on my Professional Experience Placement, cementing the validity of ideas and

advocating for the outcomes of this project further. Finally, an action plan alluded to

how the musically-integrated education model will be implemented in my own future

classroom. My three-fold philosophy of education and intentions for my dream

classroom were emphasised, speaking into the exciting future of my education

journey.
 Musical Mathematics Page 30

Reference List

Alegria, Maria. (2017). Music as a Teaching Tool. Retrieved from:

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/music-teaching-tool-maria-alegria

Allen, Stephanie via the Oxford Royal Academy. (2014). Helpful Mnemonics

and Essential Memory Aids for Tricky English Language Rules. Retrieved

from:

https://www.oxford-royale.co/uk/articles/mnemonics-memory-aids-english-

language-rules.html

Ausubel, D.P. (1963). The Psychology of Meaningful Verbal Learning. Oxford,

England: Grune & Stratton.

Ausubel, D.P. (1968). Educational Psychology: A cognitive view. New York:

Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.

Benson, David J. (2007). Music: A mathematical offering. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Bone Dance - Hannah Montana. (2007). Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Waxf9KZWpM

Collins English Dictionary. (1994). Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (n.d.). Concept to Classroom:

Constructivism as a paradigm for learning and teaching. Retrieved from:

https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub

2.html
 Musical Mathematics Page 31

Fauvel, John, Flood, Raymond & Wilson, Robin J. (Eds.). (2006). Music and

Mathematics: From Pythagoras to fractals. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

Gagne, Robert M. (1970). The Conditions of Learning. Second Edition. New

York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.

Gardner, Howard. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: New horizons in theory and

practice. New York: Ingram Publisher Services.

GoNoodle. Movement and Mindfulness for the Classroom. Retrieved from:

https://www.gonoodle.com/

Hallam, S., Price, J., & Katsarou, G. (2002). The effects of background music

on primary school pupils’ task performance. Educational Studies, 28: 111-

122.

Jones, Jeniffer. (2010) The Role of Music in Your Classroom. The Early

Childhood Leader’s Magazine, 192: 90-92.

Kuepper-Tetzel, Carolina. (N.d.). Listening to Music while Studying: A good or a

bad idea? Retrieved from:

http://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2016/11/10-1

Locke, Lawrence F., Silverman, Stephen J. & Wyrick Spirduso, Waneen.

(2010). Reading and understanding research. California: SAGE

Publications, Inc.

Roberts, Gareth E. (2016). From Music to Mathematics: Exploring the

Connections. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

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Seidenberg, Samuel. (2017). Does Music Help You Study? What the Research

Says. Retrieved from:

https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2012/09/music-studying/

Sidhu, Kulbir Singh. (2006). The Teaching of Mathematics. New Delhi: Sterling

Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

Silver, Harvey F., Strong, Richard W. & Perini, Matthew J. (2000). So each may

Learn: Integrating learning styles and multiple intelligences. Alexandria,

VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Stenhouse, L. (1975). An Introduction to Curriculum Research and

Development. London: Heinemann.

Thomas, Christy. (2015). Active Listening: Teaching with music. Retrieved

from: https://campuspress.yale.edu/yctl/active-listening/

Williams, Frederick & Monge, Peter. (2001). Reasoning with statistics: How to

read quantitative research. Boston, Massachusetts: Wadsworth, Cengage

Learning.

Wright, David. (2009). Mathematics and Music. Providence, Rhode Island:

American Mathematical Society.

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Appendix A - Ethics Statement

RES502 Semester 1, 2018 - Action Research Project (8,000 Words) - Master of

Teaching, Primary.

Shaniah Miller, A131044

“How to Integrate Music into My Maths Classroom.”

Supervisor: Stephen Codrington

Rationale: This action research project will involve assessing the primary-aged class

as a whole, avoiding one-on-one interviews. Anonymity will be maintained

at all times and student answers will be illustrated by percentages of the

overall class number. Minimal questioning will be conducted at the

culmination of each lesson that music has been integrated into, answers

will be given by a raise of hands - the following are the questions to be

asked:

1) Who enjoyed the lesson overall?

2) Who found that the *musical element* (dependent on the lesson as to

what that element will be) helped them understand the mathematical

concept?

3) Who found that the *musical element* did not help them to understand

(distracting or confusing, etc.)?

Context: Australian Christian College (ACC), Marsden Park, NSW

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Methodology: Quantitative methods of collecting and examining data will be carried

out by interacting with the class number as a whole (percentages, etc.) and

deciphering the effectiveness of teaching strategies accordingly.

Methods: whole-group questioning, anonymous data retrieval

Justification for Ethics: This is a ‘minimal risk’ action research project as I will not be

interviewing underage children one-on-one, nor will I be breeching any

child’s privacy at any point in time. Anonymity will be maintained at all times

in the action research project. Methods of data retrieval, as mentioned

above, will strictly involve a whole-class raising of hands in response to light

questioning about the lesson.

Sample References to be used:

1. Alegria, Maria. (2017). Music as a Teaching Tool. Retrieved from:

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/music-teaching-tool-maria-alegria

Silver, Harvey F., Strong, Richard W. & Perini, Matthew J. (2000). So each may

Learn: Integrating learning styles and multiple intelligences. Alexandria, VA:

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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Appendix B - Educator Interview Questions

2) What does music integrated education mean to you?

3) How do you see music being utilised effectively in the primary classroom?

4) Would you agree with the position that music aids content retention?

5) Do you have any examples of this phenomenon?

6) Do you believe that all students have the ability to connect with content in this

manner (through music)?

7) Do you agree that people with Howard Gardner’s musical ‘Multiple

Intelligence’ would learn more effectively in this classroom?

8) Do you have any further comments?

9) Do you have any resource recommendations?

10) *Other questions as the conversation leads into them, etc.