Mathematics - Middle School

 

Below is the research linking arts strategies to specific success at the middle school level in Mathematics.  Click on any of the study citations to link to a full summary of the study in ArtsEdSearch, the online database of arts education research.

 

Concepts

 

• Students with sustained participation in instrumental music programming demonstrate higher levels of mathematics achievement and greater fluency with concepts such as numerical representation, estimation, and geometry (Catterall & Chapleau, et al., 1999; Southgate & Roscigno, 2009; Spelke, 2008; Vaughn, 2000; Wetter et al., 2009).

 

• Students enrolled in arts programming, music in particular, outperform their peers on standardized mathematics tests and are more likely to pass state math assessments (Johnson & Memmott, 2006; Walker et al., 2011). 

 

Skills and Competencies

 

• Arts integrated programming develops many of the skills and competencies students need to master mathematics content such as persistence, problem solving, and strategic thinking (Imms, Jeanneret & Stevens-Ballenger, 2011; Ingram & Meath, 2007; Morris, 2001). 

 

• Music education in particular helps to develop spatial skills necessary for success in mathematics such as logic, reasoning, and pattern recognition (Costa-Giomi, 1999).