Annotated Bibliography

Research Question: Can music and poetry help make Math fun, relevant, and accessible? What are the common grounds shared by these domains?

1. Major, A. (2014). Barbers and big ideas: paradox in math and poetry. Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, 8, 54-58. doi:10.1080/17513472.2014.943999

This article is one of the unique instances that is accessible by both mathematicians and artists. It relates the common  paradox between Math and poetry, and illustrates the resonating forms of expressions between Math and poetry via five beautifully constructed poems. 

2. Burgin, J.S., Pearson, L.C., & Szirony, G.M., (2008). Hemispheric Laterality in music and math. Learning Inquiry, 2, 169-180

The article mainly deals with the hemispheric laterality, i.e. the common perception that left hemisphere is for logic and reasoning, whereas the right hemisphere is for emotions, etc. While this article does not serve as the primary source for our research question, it will be useful in integrating this perception into the inquiry project and draw extensions. 

3. Edelson, R.J., & Johnson, G. (2003). Music Makes Math Meaningful. Childhood Education, 80, 65-70. doi:10.1080/00094056.2004.10521259

This is one of the articles that we, as a group, will focus on for concluding our inquiry project, i.e. implementation. One of the things we, as educators, want to learn and bring forth is how to make Math fun and accessible, this articles does exactly that. It presents ways, activities, and ideas that we, as Math  teachers, can use to add rhythm and fun in the form of music to teaching and learning Mathematics. 

4. Daniel, T., Margaret, C.M., & Song, A. (2013). Elementary Teachers Integrate Music Activities into Regular Mathematics Lessons: Effects on Students' Mathematical Abilities. Journal for Learning through the Arts, 9, 1-21

This article will be one of our primary sources, as it examines the results and outcomes of integrating musical activities into teaching Elementary Math. A study including two classes of first grade and third grade students are observed to have positive effects on multiple mathematical ability areas after having covered a variety of music-math interdisciplinary lessons.

5.  Jan, L., & Kathy, D. (2004). Reading & Writing Poetry in Math. Reading Horizons, 45, 1-53. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol45/iss1/3

This article deals with the curiosity we had when we first discovered our inquiry project, i.e. parallels between Math and poetry. Although poetry and Math may seem to be unrelated, there is an overlap that specifically addresses rhythmic language and language skills. This article features an annotated list of mathematical poetry books and a variety of writing ideas for math poetry. We want to see what it means to have students write poetry about math and whether it will encourage them to find a deeper meaning of math concepts as they develop their poetic voices.

6. Vaughn, K. (2000). Music and Mathematics: Modest Support for the Oft-Claimed Relationship. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 43, 149-166.

Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3333641

It is one of the many articles that discovers and inquires into relating Math and Music. Additionally, it addresses the need to learn Math specifically ratios (2/4, 3/4, etc) and repeating patterns for deeper understanding of Music. 

7. Davidson, D., & Keller, R. (2001). The Math Poem: Incorporating Mathematical Terms In Poetry. The Mathematics Teacher, 94, 342-347.

Retrieved From http://www.jstor.org/stable/20870705

This article is another effort in making Math relevant and accessible, i.e. it incorporates Mathematical terms into writing a poem. This can also be extended to including Mathematical ideas.

8. Emmons, C. (2013). How to Cook Up a Math Poem in n Easy Steps. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 3, 108-114. doi:10.5642/jhummath.201301.09

This article digs deeper than most other articles in incorporating and integrating Math and Poetry. It uses mathematical concepts and present them in a literally and visually compelling way. It also personalizes the process of composing such poetry.

 

Inquiry Project - Primary Sources

1. Edelson, R.J., & Johnson, G. (2003). Music Makes Math Meaningful. Childhood Education, 80, 65-70. doi:10.1080/00094056.2004.10521259

This is one of the articles that we, as a group, will focus on for concluding our inquiry project, i.e. implementation. One of the things we, as educators, want to learn and bring forth is how to make Math fun and accessible, this articles does exactly that. It presents ways, activities, and ideas that we, as Math  teachers, can use to add rhythm and fun in the form of music to teaching and learning Mathematics. 

2. Daniel, T., Margaret, C.M., & Song, A. (2013). Elementary Teachers Integrate Music Activities into Regular Mathematics Lessons: Effects on Students' Mathematical Abilities. Journal for Learning through the Arts, 9, 1-21 

This article will be another primary source, as it examines the results and outcomes of integrating musical activities into teaching Elementary Math. A study including two classes of first grade and third grade students are observed to have positive effects on multiple mathematical ability areas after having covered a variety of music-math interdisciplinary lessons.

 

3. Burgin, J.S., Pearson, L.C., & Szirony, G.M., (2008). Hemispheric Laterality in music and math. Learning Inquiry, 2, 169-180

The article mainly deals with the hemispheric laterality, i.e. the common perception that left hemisphere is for logic and reasoning, whereas the right hemisphere is for emotions, etc. While this article does not serve as the primary source for our research question, it will be useful in exploring the concept of Musical Mathematics and drawing extensions.