Strategic Partnership

Maths in Motion is a KA2 Erasmus+ project about how dance and body movement can be used as tools to teach mathematics. Maths in Motion is a strategic partnership that brought together people from the formal and non-formal education in order to work, explore and develop this new, creative and innovative method.

 

The Maths in Motion methodology was collaboratively developed and field-tested by an international group of teachers, dancers, science communication experts, researchers, and mathematicians. The development took place between 2017 and 2019. All of the people involved shared the common perspective that dance and mathematics have something in common, and that dance would, therefore, be an excellent aid in mathematics education.

Nowadays more and more students are struggling in math and have difficulties to comprehend and put in practice what they learn, the need for an inclusive, kinaesthetic and engaging way of teaching is emerging. The idea behind the project is grounded in embodied cognition which proves that learning depends on the body as well as the brain (Robbins and Aydede, 2009). With embodied activities, the whole body is involved in the learning process instead of keeping it just on an intellectual level. This process opens up new horizons for students, teachers, and even parents by offering simultaneous experiences with the structural, spatial, rhythmic and symbolic dimensions of mathematics through body movement.

The project and its results follow in the footsteps of the writing, workshops, and performances of Schaffer and Stern (USA) in the field of mathematics and dance over the past few decades.

Timeline

  • 30-31 October 2017Kick-off Meeting

    Ommen, The Netherlands
  • November 2017 - January 2019Maths in Motion workbook

    1st Intellectual Output
  • 18-22 February 2018"Maths in Motion"

    Training Activity in Ommen, The Netherlands
  • 6-8 May 2018"Sense of space: from 2D to 3D"

    Training Event in Athens, Greece
  • 15-17 May 2018"Patterns"

    Training Event in Codogno, Italy
  • 28-30 May 2018"Mathematical Operations"

    Training Event in Galati, Romania
  • February - September 2018Maths in Motion Toolkit

    2nd Intellectual Output
  • November 2018"Maths & Beyond"

    Training Activity in Ommen, The Netherlands
  • January 2019"Dancing with Maths"

    Multiplier Event in Ommen, The Netherlands
  • February 2019"Maths in Motion.gr"

    Multiplier Event in Athens, Greece
  • March 2019"Steps to Maths"

    Multiplier Event in Galati, Romania
  • April 2019"Math through dance, dance through Math"

    Multiplier Event in Sofia, Bulgaria
  • May 2019"Maths & Dance in a game!"

    Multiplier Event in Holstebro, Denmark
  • June 2019"Math is fun!"

    Multiplier Event in Codogno, Italy
  • July 2019 "Bridges Festival"

    Multiplier Event in Linz, Austria
  • November 2019 Closing & Follow-up Meeting

    Ommen, the Netherlands
  • July 2020 "Maths in Motion world cafe"

    Online multiplier event
1100

Teachers reached


12485

Students reached


73

Countries reached


12

Conferences participated


Impact

Maths in Motion in the world

What the participants say

  • "Professionally it improved our company because it opened up new ways of teaching. Personal experience is that there is a better atmosphere, less stress, more fun – whenever we use math in motion."

    Kristóf Fenyvesi, Finland
  • "I will never go back to the way I was teaching before"

    Hanne Derdau, Denmark
  • "Participating in Maths in Motion has given me more courage and inspiration to apply for PhD studies in mathematics education and to choose embodied mathematics education as my research subject. I have started my studies officially in January 2019 and my research subject is embodied mathematics education: how to use dance in mathematics education."

    Saara Lehto, Finland
  • "Contrary to the traditional didactic approaches, Maths in Motion is not competitive. Cooperation, community building and 21st Century skills development at it's best."

    Lena Nasiakou, the Netherlands
  • "It gave me new experiences to work in a team with people from different cultures and contexts. It made me see my job from another angle and become more interested in the topic of mathematical movements. I am extremely grateful for this experience as a math dance trainer. It is definitely an area I will go deeply too."

    Svetlana Goranova, Bulgaria
  • "This was the first time to meet teachers and people from other European countries and share useful information about our educational system. This enriched my English vocabulary, boosted my creativity and gave me new ideas about how to teach maths and to actively involve the students."

    Dida Cristina Isaia, Romania
  • "I feel myself as a member of a group of educators who believe there are alternative ways to explore the learning of mathematics. This translates to being able to share my views with other educators --some of whom have not thought maths can be taught in such a manner."

    Kerry Osborne, Finland
  • "Maths in Motion is a project linked into my two passions, mathematics and teaching. I really loved that I met and cooperated with different people from different cultures, discussed their passions and experiences for teaching, and learned about school systems in other countries. Being an ambassador of the program in my country has offered me some very good talks with other educators and opportunities for collaborations."

    Marilena Andrikopoulou, Greece
  • "I have learned great people to know all over Europe. This gives me the possibility to ask for job shadow/exchange ideas, cooperation, etc. I love that the project is for several years because it gives me the possibility of contemplation."

    Gitte Fuglsang Lausen, Denmark
  • "It boosted my motivation, satisfaction, and happiness."

    Luisa Lenta, Italy

See for yourself

What the partners say

  • "Our students have nice memories about the teachers who came and about the activities that took place in our school, they are eager to be involved in maths lessons which include body movement. Their maths grades are higher and they have bigger motivation to learn a foreign language. Our teachers are trying to bring Erasmus+ projects in our school."

    Scoala Gimnaziala Nr. 20 Galati, Romania
  • "We are talking a lot more about movements in our classes and trying to inspire each other to do more. we are sharing more ideas about movement in different topics."

    Balletskolen Holstebro, Denmark
  • "We have inspired our colleagues to develop other KA2 projects focused on the embodied methodology."

    Olde Vechte Foundation, the Netherlands
  • "It gave more opportunities to my colleagues. It made us richer in experiences and knowledge."

    FUN Mathematics, Bulgaria
  • "My colleagues started to ask and be interested in new ways of teaching maths through movement."

    Istituto comprensivo Ognissanti, Italy
  • "The Maths in Motion project has inspired us to create a lot of different new educational methods and materials. It has been a crucial factor in the addition of a new emphasis field inside the Science Education Centre of the University of Helsinki, which includes dance in mathematics education, embodied mathematics education and art and mathematics."

    Experience Workshop, Finland
  • "We have created a dedicated 5-member team to run this project, even after it's finished. The team is currently inspired to gather the whole maths in motion methodology and apply it in the greek school reality as an extracurricular additional activity in order to have an impact on local communities."

    SciCo, Greece