Smart Shorties

Today's Student by Carolyn Kornegay and Irene Woodard

Today’s student is surrounded by rhythmic technology: cell telephones, ipods, MP3 players, etc.; therefore, they will readily embrace Spark the Mind/Smart Shorties as a learning tool. It is non-threatening and can be repeated as needed across all grade levels.
The concept is highly entertaining, promotes retention through repetition and reinforces skill development.

Learning fundamental mathematics principles insures the student’s ability to successfully master all NCTM Standards required at each grade level. Multiplication skills are necessary for success in performing all mathematical procedures.

What Research says about the Relationship between Repetition (Rote Memory) and Learning: (Ever wonder why you still know your nursery rhymes?)

Repetition is a key part of learning. It is the optimum plan for reviewing information to get it into long term memory.

• Rote memorization is a valuable tool for certain types of data. Learning multiplication tables, typing and playing the piano demonstrate the role repetition plays in learning. Smart Shorties combines learning to multiply by memorization plus the addition of familiar hip hop music tunes combined with creative, self- expressed lyrics. The child, who experiences this powerful combination of learning at 8 or 9 years of age, will know for the rest of his life that 8x7 is 56…and never wonder as an adult about that fact.

What Research says about Biology of Music: (Ever wonder why pregnant mothers experience fetal movement when music is played?)

Music is a learning tool that already exists in the student’s schema. It is used as transition during work periods and is effective in assisting students in self- regulation.

• Scientists have proven that music is in our genes. All humans come into the world with an innate capability for music. At a very early age, this capability is shaped by the music system of the culture in which a child is raised. Spark the Mind combines the research on what goes on in the brain with a cultural understanding of music which leads to practical applications related to learning.

What’s appealing about Spark the Mind?

• It’s based on the brain looking for familiar patterns during the acquisition of knowledge (learning).
  

• It collaborates with the brain familiar patterns with familiar music patterns.

• It recognizes and highlights that students learn best when they learn using a medium that is familiar to their cultural schema. Songs chosen for Smart Shorties are popular and familiar among today’s students.

• It provides an opportunity for students to elicit positive affirmation from their peers.

• It can be used for new learning, remediation, individualized instruction, small and large group instruction; it can be used when English is the second language and by students who have learning challenges.

• It can be implemented by teachers of every caliber [ i.e. new, experienced, successful, marginal]

• Its creative approach engages the students’ emotions through musical intonation, thereby removing the classroom limitation of learning only by textbooks and worksheets.

• Its effective use can result in a student’s measurable gains in math on national standardized tests.

The use of hip hop music is a creative way for students to learn multiplication and other academic facts because it allows them to use their individual personality and self- expression to demonstrate their basic understanding. The goal of this high interest, non- threatening instructional approach is to enable students to quickly learn the multiplication facts. Once they have learned this basic skill, they will be able to demonstrate use of repeated addition, counting in multiples, combining things that are in groups, making arrays, using area models, computing simple scales and using simple rates. Learning the multiplication factors in early grades is requisite to being able to understand and proficiently demonstrate higher level math skills over time.

Using hip-hop to learn multiplication is similar to using street mathematics or mathematics used out of school (Street Mathematics and School Mathematics, Nunes et. al., Columbia University Press, 1993). Students bring “rhymes” or “rap” that they recite in informal environments away from the school to the classroom to help them learn mathematical skills and content.

Submitted by:

Carolyn Kornegay – Curriculum Writer of Math and Science; adjunct professor at Howard University and former Science Associate in the Office of the Deputy Superintendent in charge of interpretation and usage of the D.C. Mathematics, Science and Technology Curriculum Framework.

Irene Woodard – Retired D.C. Public School principal; current facilitator of seminars for corporate leaders and personal COACH to charter school administrators.

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