The Intersection of Two Unlikely Worlds: Ratios and Drums

When mathematics lessons are linked with personal experiences, typically, the result is that the student gains a stronger understanding of the content than if the lessons are isolated and unconnected. This premise was recently supported in a local fifth-grade classroom. The students learned to play...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching children mathematics 2001-02, Vol.7 (6), p.376-383
Main Authors: Stevens, Anthony C., Sharp, Janet M., Nelson, Becky
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ceremonies
Children
Claves
Congas
Drums
Elementary Education
Elementary School Mathematics
Ethnomathematics
Integrated Activities
Mathematical knowledge
Mathematics
Mathematics education
Mathematics Instruction
Mathematics teachers
Methods
Multicultural Education
Music
Musical rhythm
Ratio and proportion
Ratios
Ratios (Mathematics)
Study and teaching
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:When mathematics lessons are linked with personal experiences, typically, the result is that the student gains a stronger understanding of the content than if the lessons are isolated and unconnected. This premise was recently supported in a local fifth-grade classroom. The students learned to play three mathematically disparate rhythms on conga drums as an introduction to an exploration of ratio. Ratios connect naturally with African and Afro-Cuban drumming because the drummer's combination of many rhythms, each with a pattern repetition of different length results in a polyrhythmic song. The pattern repetitions are comprised of a given quantity of one type of beat mixed with a specified quantity of another type of beat, or a ratio of one beat to the other one. Although we completed this lesson with a group of children of whom half were African American, we believe this lesson can be powerful and meaningful for children of all ethnic backgrounds.
ISSN:1073-5836
2327-0780
DOI:10.5951/TCM.7.6.0376