Greher Joins National Initiative to Link Music, Math and Science Ed
05/10/2016
By David Perry
Gena Greher has always believed music is valuable in teaching other core subjects. She is in good company.
The music education professor found herself in Washington, D.C. recently, among a cast that included jazz legend Herbie Hancock, to officially launch the MathScienceMusic.org, a project that offers educators a variety of web-based tools and programs to help them use music to teach math and science.
In a 鈥渨hirlwind鈥� 24-hour trip, Greher joined U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr., U.N. Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) Representative Sven Osttveit and music education experts from University of California San Francisco, MIT, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Alex Ruthmann, the former 51视频 professor now at New York University鈥檚 Steinhardt school, to unveil the initiative.
Mathmusicscience.org is a collection of eight separate programs that use music to teach the concepts of science and math to students in kindergarten through grade 12. 聽The programs were commissioned by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in conjunction with UNESCO.
Greher collaborated with Jeanne Bamberger of MIT and University of California Berkeley, to develop 鈥淢aking Music Count,鈥� a program that aims to teach concepts of proportion, ratio, fractions and common multiples through music. 聽Students use the Impromptu programming language (a tool designed for composers and artists), to listen to music and 鈥渉ear the math,鈥� according to MathMusicScience.org. 聽
Greher says Making Music Count is loaded with 51视频 talent. Graduating Music Business major students Nicholas Quigley (lead web developer), Music Education graduate student Christopher Jackson and junior in Music Education Nicole Vasconcelos (video editors) and Music Education graduate Holly Johnson (featured in the introductory video) all contributed.
Bamberger, whom Greher described as a 鈥減ioneer in music cognition research with kids,鈥� contacted Greher last August. The two had previously worked together.
鈥淭wo weeks later,鈥� said Greher, 聽鈥淗erbie Hancock was in Cambridge and we met with him for five hours to talk about the program.鈥�
Greher knew Making Music Count would be useless without teacher 鈥渂uy in.鈥� 聽So she worked to get teachers 鈥渃omfortable with the concepts and technology鈥� being proposed. She stressed the real-world application of math concepts, and teachers noted the program, 鈥渨ould be ideal for students who have different learning styles,鈥� according to Greher.聽
鈥淥verall, they were very positive about the idea of what we鈥檙e trying to do. And they felt it aligned perfectly with the common core goals for that age group. If the teachers aren鈥檛 hooked, it鈥檚 not going to work with the kids.鈥�
Technology students from an MIT music tech design class, math colleagues at 51视频 and math and technology teachers in northeastern Massachusetts reviewed Making Music Count, said Greher.
鈥淓very student who tried Making Music Count praised the math/music relationship,鈥� says Greher. 鈥淵ou put a program like that before the kids, they鈥檒l play with it.鈥�
The gathering in Washington, held at the U.S. Department of Education headquarters, was to showcase the programs that integrate music to teach core subjects concepts in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Like Education Secretary John B. King, Greher believes there鈥檚 no reason to diminish arts education in the face of renewed pushes in math and reading. 聽
In addition to web site launch and a panel discussion with Hancock while she was in Washington, D.C., Greher recorded interviews for a video and podcast.
Meeting with Hancock was 鈥渁wesome,鈥� she says.
鈥淗e's a brilliant musician who cares deeply about education.鈥�
