PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS
Teachers can learn to do this too! Combining math, dance, and rhythm is a powerful way to make the abstract world of mathematics concrete for your kinesthetic young learners.
Using an educational tool specifically designed for non-dancers, explore movement- and rhythm-based lessons that will help you increase students' understanding of mathematical topics and improve their critical thinking skills. Read more about the big picture that informs the structure of Math in Your Feet.
Math in Your Feet professional development workshops empower teachers to learn and use specific tools to teach the movement, rhythm and math aspects of this program. These workshops are for classroom teachers of grades 3-6 and PE and music speicalists. K-2 teachers will find the material adaptable for the younger grades. Learn how to:
- use simple foot-based dance patterns to orient students in space;
- apply problem solving strategies to the choreographic process;
- challenge students to learn and apply principles of transformation and symmetry to dance patterns;
- empower students to use geometry concepts and math vocabulary in a real-world setting;
- help students communicate their creative work using graphs, symbols, and maps.
Math In Your Feet I: Teaching Problem Solving and Geometry through Rhythm and Movement
Learn how to apply problem solving strategies to the choreographic process, and learn to guide students as they physically experience the concept of variables/symbols while working collaboratively. This process empowers students to use math vocabulary in a real-world setting and communicate their creative work using graphs, symbols and maps. This workshop is best taken in a series with Math In Your Feet II.
Math In Your Feet II: Teaching Transformation and Symmetry through Rhythm and Movement
Learn how simple foot-based dance patterns can be used to orient students in space, teach the concept of congruence and challenge students to learn and apply the principles of transformation and symmetry. This process empowers students to use math vocabulary in a real-world setting and work creatively in collaborative groups. This workshop is best taken in a series with Math In Your Feet I.
Professional dancer and teaching artist Malke Rosenfeld collaborated with Presidential Award winning elementary math specialist Jane Cooney to create the student residency upon which this workshop is based. This program is grounded in both NCTM principles and standards and national dance standards, finding relevance and meaning in the intersections between math and dance. Read more about the big picture that informs the structure of Math in Your Feet.
These workshops were developed in association with Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University and Young Audiences of Indiana. As part of this process, Malke participated in the Kennedy Center's Seminar, "Artists as Educators: Planning Effective Workshops for Teachers."
Math in Your Feet has been presented at:
Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University Teacher Workshop Series,
Indianapolis, IN, 2007, 2008 & 2009
NCTM Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA, 2005
NCTM Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO, 2006
Indiana Council for Teachers of Mathematics, Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 2005
Indiana Council for Teachers of Mathematics, Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 2008
Math and Reasoning Class, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN, 2008