Math and Music Combo Boosts Test Scores, Reveals 50-Year Review
An analysis of nearly five decades of research has unveiled that incorporating music into children’s math lessons enhances their performance in the subject.
According to a review of nearly 50 years of research, incorporating music into math lessons can enhance children’s performance in math. Believers hold that using music makes math more enjoyable, engages students, and alleviates math-related fears and anxiety.
The study, published in Educational Studies, highlights that music can increase motivation and foster a greater appreciation for math. Music integration into math education can employ various techniques, such as rhythmic clapping and designing musical instruments using math principles.
Correlation between musical ability and math
Previous studies have indicated a correlation between musical ability and math proficiency, but the impact of teaching music on math performance has remained unclear. To address this, Dr. Ayça Akın, a researcher from Antalya Belek University, conducted a comprehensive analysis of 55 studies involving approximately 78,000 students ranging from kindergarten to university level. The researchers considered three types of musical interventions: standard music lessons, instrumental music lessons, and music-math integrated interventions.
The results indicates that significant improvement in math scores over time associated with the incorporation of music, either as separate lessons or within math classes. Integrated lessons had the greatest impact, with around 73% of students in these lessons demonstrating significantly better math performance compared to those without any musical intervention.
Additionally, 69% of students who learned to play instruments and 58% of students who had standard music lessons showed greater improvement than those without musical interventions.
Music for learning arithmetic
The analysis also indicated that music is particularly beneficial for learning arithmetic, especially for younger students and those grasping foundational mathematical concepts.
The commonalities between math and music, such as the use of symbols and symmetry, as well as the requirement for abstract thinking and quantitative reasoning, contribute to their compatibility for integrated instruction.
Dr. Akın notes that core mathematical concepts, such as fractions and ratios, align closely with music, making arithmetic well-suited for instruction through music. For example, musical notes of varying lengths can be represented as fractions and combined to create musical bars.
Integrated lessons enable students to establish connections between math and music, offering additional opportunities to explore, interpret, and comprehend mathematical concepts. Moreover, these lessons have the potential to alleviate students’ anxiety about math by making the learning experience more enjoyable.
The study acknowledges limitations, including the relatively small number of studies available for analysis, which precluded an examination of factors like gender, socioeconomic status, and duration of musical instruction on the results.
In conclusion, while musical instruction overall has a moderate impact on math achievement, integrated lessons have a substantial effect. Dr. Akın suggests that encouraging collaboration between math and music teachers could alleviate students’ math anxiety while boosting their achievement.
Read the original article on Phys.
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