I found myself reflecting on the powerful role the mind-body connection plays in cognitive learning, especially in mathematics. Movement can enhance cognitive engagement, and that I believe is a compelling force existing within everyone. Where physical actions represent abstract mathematical ideas, students' understanding of math concepts can be deepened. This connection between body and mind highlights how movement can serve as a bridge, making seemingly difficult concepts more accessible and memorable.
Moreover, I think the reading resonates with my long-time belief that learning math is a process that requires engaging multiple senses. Using sight, touch, and sometimes sound to create a unique sensory experience. By turning mathematical steps into physical movements, students activate kinesthetic learning. I believe it is important for students to "feel" the math as they perform it. As taught by my pilates instructor, one only comes to a deep understanding of an art when being physically present in it.
Given the growing popularity of choreography and dance among teens, particularly influenced by K-pop culture, I think incorporating dance into high school math lessons could be a good opportunity for future educators to build relevance with the student body. Many students are already familiar with choreography through social media and music videos. It is thus easier for us to seek ways to create connections between their interests and mat. I could collaborate with students to create routines that represent various math concepts, like function transformations. This would make math learning a lot more interactive.
One potential setback would be that students with physical disabilities might feel left out because they cannot participate in these dancing activities. While trying to be creative in our classrooms, we should also remember to be inclusive and understanding of every individual around us.
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Excellent post, Caris! Great point about learning math being a process that can be enriched by engaging multiple senses. It's also nice that you are thinking about how to connect to your students' interests (such as K-pop culture, social media, and music videos) when incorporating dance into math lessons. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in considering the needs of students with physical disabilities.
ReplyDeleteCopying what I wrote on Leon's blog about your final course project: Hi Leon and Caris. This seems like way too broad a topic, since there is so much included in geometry. What geometry will you be focusing on? How will it connect with dance and yoga? You really need to be focused in terms of the math, the teaching of the math and the artistic representation to do a good job here! It's not enough just to demonstrate some dance and yoga and then speak vaguely about geometry -- and I need to know those specifics! Thanks...and expecting that you will reassure me with some great specific details.
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