Week 5 ACTIVITY :
Viewing the "Activity" video of Sarah Chase's Dancing combinatorics, phases and tides was a lovely break in the non-stop "going" I find myself in these days (even if it is only taking place in my mind!) Then when Sarah mentioned how mathematics tends to be "esoteric" and separate from the arts I felt surprise, because there is SO much "math" involved with dance! The repeating patterns of: the steps, the music, the rhythm, the 'counts' involved with the dance step combinations i.e.: "five, six, seven, eight!"
As Sarah moved through the combinatoric dance moves I was enthralled! Then immediately intimidated thinking that if I attempted this I would feel very much the same as when I try to pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time! While watching the video and the calm movement of the dance moves, I was reminded of a conversation I had with my math Instructor when I attended Langara. This instructor was very excited about mathematics and when I shared that I was beginning to understand the concepts, he enthusiastically began sharing, "When you think about it, math is all around us!" At this time I was still of the opinion that mathematics was only a series of calculations and operations performed with abstract numbers. The Instructor's statement caused me to think that he was a bit too excited about math; his statement made me think that he was referring to numbers being "all around us," that he actually could see the numbers, kind of like Neo, in The Matrix...
Extension:
My teaching interests are in the primary levels, particularly Pre-School (I'm currently not teaching due to COVID restrictions) So I think I might discuss the idea of how the sun moves from the East ~one side of the sky to the West ~the other side of the sky and take a nice long time documenting this to help the students observe the movement. Then once they recognize that the sun moves and "rises" mimic Sarahs dance moves with arm movements and creating a few simple dance steps that map out the time of day (circle-time, snack-time, lunch-time, nap-time, play-time, home-time, supper-time, bed time)
The extension could be to learn the seasons in this manner as well, creating dance combinatorics that show and discuss the seasons throughout the year.
READING Reflection :
Abstract: "The study examines the consequences of whole-body, multi-party activity for mathematics learning...illustrating how whole-body collaboration can transform how learners experience learning environments and make sense of important mathematical ideas."
Kelton & Ma begin by stating that "How we think, learn, and communicate about mathematics depends a great deal on our opportunities for physical movement, interaction and expression.... mathematics learning environments shape and are transformed by the activities of learners."
The paper studies two separate activities in two different schools, in two different "arenas"~or, learning environments; a school gymnasium the other, a school classroom.
The activity in the gym allowed for large "gross motor" whole-body movement with "multi-party"(a full class) collaboration while performing an activity entitled, "Walking Scale Number Line".
By using the "arena" of the gymnasium, where typically students are free to run, jump, talk, yell, at times even scream; allowed a greater sense of freedom to the students to collaborate, with the underlying feeling of "play". The teachers were able to facilitate student engagement and learning from this space and then in turn allow for mathematical concepts to be realized in a "whole-body" manner that may not have been captured in a classroom setting ~arena. Kelton & Ma state it this way, "The structure of mathematical tasks and learning environment designs, and the ways in which participants take them up, can have profound consequences for configuring which aspects of embodied activity...are treated as relevant and which are ignored, eclipsed, quieted..."(page181) "...this study signifies...curiosity about the possibilities...of activities...comprehensively incorporated into and made relevant to mathematics than is often the case..." (page 182)
While this paper was very much a study type of paper, I did enjoy reading about how the students were learning about mathematical concepts in a manner that was not traditional; I was a little disappointed in the fact that the paper didn't touch on how (or if) the teachers took the students learning and interlaced it into deeper mathematical learning.
Hi Grace,
ReplyDeleteYes, it is always an Aha moment when students hear and see that math is all around us. When I had my math 11 students explore math around the school, they could see math at the school ground, where the swing was in the shape of a parabola. Students were able to find the equation of that parabola using desmos.
The "Walking Scale Number Line" concept seems innovative to me. Implementing the whole-body embodiment, collaboration, and math concepts always enhances students' understanding of math and makes sense of abstract math concepts. In Foundations of Math 11, we had a handshake problem that utilizes inductive reasoning to develop deductive reasoning. Instead of working out the solution on a paper, I had students stimulate the handshake between two students and 3, 4 and so on. Students were able to see the pattern and created an "nth" term without any challenges.
The mathematics engaged through embodiment provides an opportunity for students to experience the math and see how math unfolds.
Grace, you are so BRAVE! When I saw Chase's video, there was no way I could do what she did! Funny thing, I even recalled the same motions you did, patting the head and rubbing the belly...I always struggle with that!
ReplyDeleteThank you for summarizing Kelton and Ma's study. You offered some critical thought and recognized the gaps in their lack of integration for future mathematical learning. Stella and I are looking to ribbon dance as our project idea and it is great to read about other studies that have integrated movement. Can I ask how long their study was carried out for? Or for how many sessions? I think frequency can play a factor for students, as the novelty of something 'new' may wear off over time. I'm curious to compare different studies on the frequency and duration of these movement-based activities! Thank you for summarizing this article!
Grace, I’m glad you experienced Sarah Chase’s dancing combinatorics, phases, and tides as a lovely break! And I like how you connect this to the slow moving of the sun in the sky.
ReplyDeleteGiven the times we’re living in, I’m reminded of Sarah Chase saying: “Life is really a lot about different phases of things working simultaneously with each other – relationships in nature, and in personal relationships, and in the weather, and in music as examples of phasing”.
And while I hope this quote doesn’t over excite you! I’m curious about the possibilities of deepening mathematical learning in your time-of-day dance, and ways you might bring these into the course assignment. Maybe ask Susan about ‘Nap-in’ sessions run by Barbara Bickel in the Orchard Garden.