Enriching the teaching of fractions through integrating mathematics and music

South African Journal of Childhood Education

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Enriching the teaching of fractions through integrating mathematics and music
 
Creator Lovemore, Tarryn S. Robertson, Sally-Ann Graven, Mellony
 
Subject education; mathematics education Grade 5; curriculum integration; note values; Bresler’s co-equal cognitive style of arts integration; qualitative study; action research; multiple representations; motivation
Description Background: Mathematics education is a significant issue in the South African context. Learners’ achievement levels are markedly low as suggested by both national and international studies. The teaching and learning of fractions in particular have been identified as challenging.Aim: The aim of this article is to share some of the outcomes derived from a series of lessons in which aspects of music (note values) were integrated into the teaching of fractions in primary school.Setting: The study was conducted in a Grade 5 class in an independent school in the Eastern Cape, with readily available resources at hand.Methods: The broader study was an action research case study. It employed qualitative methods of data collection, based on cycles of critical reflection and adjustment, including feedback from learners and critical peers.Results: Findings highlighted the value of integrating music and mathematics as a teaching and learning strategy. Learning support materials and activities that promoted curriculum integration were designed. The discussion highlights benefits of these integrated lessons.Conclusion: We conclude by suggesting that teachers explore synergistic opportunities across mathematics and music as subjects. In particular, we suggest curriculum integration to support the teaching of fractions in the primary grades of schooling. Our hope is that this article will encourage teachers to develop their own integrated strategies for enriching their teaching of mathematics.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation (Grant No. 74658)
Date 2021-01-21
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — qualitative study; action research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajce.v11i1.899
 
Source South African Journal of Childhood Education; Vol 11, No 1 (2021); 14 pages 2223-7682 2223-7674
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/899/1728 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/899/1727 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/899/1729 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/899/1726
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2021 Tarryn S. Lovemore, Sally-Ann Robertson, Mellony Graven https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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