Turning Point students rap to learn math

by Monica Springer, The Emporia Gazette

For the past two weeks students at Turning Point Learning Center have been building an amusement park and learning raps to memorize math formulas.

And it’s all a part of an undergraduate research project.

Melissa Reed, assistant professor of literacy at the Teachers College at Emporia State University, and undergraduate student Lacy Jordan, wanted to find out if integrating literacy into math lessons would help raise student achievement scores.

Reed and Jordan found that it did.

They started by teaching 13 middle school students vocabulary. Then the children learned formulas by learning a rap, talked about geometric shapes, then incorporated those shapes into an amusement park that the students built.

“We’re finding it makes a difference when they understand the terminology,” Reed said.

The middle school students brought objects from home to make the amusement park. Items included sponges, a Pringles can and a roller coaster made out of popsicle sticks.

The children learned through project based learning. They split up into three teams, which they named themselves: BT 40’s, Techno Breakdown and School of Rock.

Jordan, a junior at ESU from Wellsville, wants to be a middle school math teacher after she graduates.

“It’s given me a lot of experience that I’ll use,” she said. “I’m really interested in using project based learning. It’s interesting to me to see it actually put into motion.”

The students took a pre-test and a post-test to see how much they learned. Jordan said during the post-test she could hear students quietly humming the raps to the formulas to themselves.

“We know that it will help them in the classroom,” Jordan said. On Friday the students put their pieces of the amusement park together to create one big amusement park.

Hallie Hawkins, 13, and Tiauna Rowley, 13, both in eighth grade, said they had fun learning math during the past two weeks.

“I will remember them in the future,” Hawkins said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Hawkins and Rowley said they weren’t very excited to attend the math camp but said they are glad they attended.

Hawkins said she made squares into bumper cars. Rowley was on a team that constructed a roller coaster made out of popsicle sticks.

The students researched amusement park rides by reading books. Reed said many of them used their own experience visiting amusement parks as well.

Other rides and buildings in the amusement park included a Hotel California, a snow-cone business, a Hamster ball ride, an above ground pool, a ticket booth, restrooms, and a garden of guitars.

The students also completed math journals and made posters, explaining the math vocabulary in their own words. The students who took part in the math camp all attend Turning Point.

Cosandra Neely, Turning Point’s math teacher, stopped in on the students several times during the past few weeks.

She commended the students for doing a good job on Friday.

“You guys are amazing,” she said. “You did a great, great job. I’m am so proud of you I’m almost in tears.”

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2011/jun/27/turning-point-students-rap-learn-math/