Helping children take their first steps in mathematics through the performing arts? Is that possible?

We think so. And so do the schools we work with.

Phil Baldwin, class teacher at Edward Wilson School, explains more:

“Our Artis Specialist Smiles started working with my class last year. As Reception children, and now Year 1, you could easily imagine how creative teaching helps them develop basic learning tools like attentive listening and motor skills. Yet week by week Smiles has also introduced, skilfully and gradually, rhythmic counting. And not counting tangible objects, but counting in the abstract. So…from counting out loud up from one to eight to a rhythm, the children moved to counting out loud to seven and clapping on the eighth beat, then to counting silently in their heads and clapping on the eighth beat.”

Smiles added: “My professional training is in dance and choreography, and a dancer’s life is all about counting but not letting it show! When a child of four or five years can stand for up to three minutes without moving while another child is marching in tune to the music, you know it’s going well. When 20 children can count and bounce to seven, clapping on eight, you know you’re on the right track. And when a class of 30 five year olds know their left from their right, then something is working. It is a wonderful feeling to watch a group of children developing a physicality and mathematical awareness ahead of most other children their age.”

Similar work is taking place at a new school, Ark Academy Headteacher Jacqueline Steele said:

“We are creating an all-through academy for three to 18 year olds. Our first reception intake of 60 pupils started in September 2008 and Artis began the same week! So it is exciting as we plan to have the support of Artis long-term, enriching the curriculum right from the start of our children’s learning.”

“For the first term Hoot and Click worked on introducing listening skills, use of the body, self-control, respecting others and moving in a space. Now they are starting with simple steps like forming a circle as a group, and singing songs with rhythm. Next term Hoot and Click will bring other geometric shapes into their work like squares and triangles, through imaginative journeys on the floor. Artis is a great addition to a child’s first steps in education.”

The use of music in the sessions offers a fun and imaginative way of familiarising children with maths topics and vocabulary. Academics have also found direct parallels between the skills needed to succeed in the maths and in music.

An influential study in the United States gave strong support to the theory that music-making can help children grasp the basics of maths. Researchers found that by comparing the maths test results of children receiving piano lessons with those learning maths only by traditional methods and computer programs, there was a causal relationship between musical training and better numerical ability.

Pupils with experience of music showed better progress in their maths skills, especially in ratios and fractions. For the research leader, Dr Gordon Shaw, this highlighted the connection between pupils’ music-making and their grasp of mathematical principles: “The learning of music emphasises thinking in space and time … when children learn rhythm, they are learning ratios, fractions and proportion”, (Dr Shaw, University of California, 1999).
Nigel Mainard (Boing), our Head of Professional Services and curriculum development, feels the performing arts make an ideal base from which to grasp the basics of numeracy. “The discipline needed in drama, music and movement naturally provides us with opportunities to introduce timing, pace, counting, rhythm and meter. We are meticulous in designing our programmes of work to ensure they all link with the national curriculum in some way. Each session will contribute to developing a child’s numeracy, especially the more abstract parts of mathematics that are not necessarily so easily learnt in a formal classroom setting.”

If you’d like to find out more about how Artis could work with your school, tailoring our approach to your curriculum themes, then we would love to hear from you or call us on 0207 324 9884.