Maths in Motion Workbook is the 1st intellectual output of Maths in Motion project and collects all the existed activities and research on specific mathematical areas in connection with movement. The 3 mathematical areas are: Sense of Space; from 2D to 3D, Mathematical Operations and Patterns. The materials are free to be used and shared.

Creative team: Lena Nasiakou (lenasiakou@gmail.com), Svetlana Goranova (sveta@zabavnamatematika.com), Kristofer Fenyvesi (fenyvesi.kristof@gmail.com), Despoina Rafailidou (despoina.raf@gmail.com)

ACTIVITIES | Mathematical Operations

Moving Operations

Source: Maths & Moves training course


This session has been implemented in Maths & Moves Training Course for teachers and it is adjusted for students. The session starts with a physical warm up and work towards the concept of a unit and the symbolic language of mathematics. The main part of the session is about translations: to translate an operation from a symbolic written form, to a movement form and the other way around. This part is slowly build up: from experiencing one by one all operations through movement, to being able to create their own Moving Operations though a group assignment and figure out others groups Moving Operations. The session finishes with an individual reflection.

Math Dance

Source: Math dance - Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern


In this video Erik Stern and Karl Schaffer are showing the connection between mathematics and movement in the topics of Combinatorics and the The Least Common Multiple. They do so by demonstrating 2 Activities, where they introduce math and dance concepts as they go. After 20 years of teaching their conclusion is that embodying the problem is memorable, social, creative and makes the mathematical ideas accessible.

RESEARCH | Mathematical Operations

Case Studies Listening to Students Using Kinesthetic Movement While Learning to Graph Linear Functions

Source: Novak, M. A. (2017). Case Studies Listening to Students Using Kinesthetic Movement While Learning to Graph Linear Functions. Kent State University.


The purpose of this qualitative practitioner research study was to describe middle school algebra students’ experiences of learning linear functions through kinesthetic movement. Participants were comprised of 8th grade algebra students. Since this research focused on the mental constructions made by students as they attempted to make sense of mathematics kinesthetically, it is grounded in the philosophical tenets of constructivism (Piaget & Vygotsky), math representation theory, and kinesthetic movement.

Dance/Movement Therapy’s Influence on Adolescents’ Mathematics, Social-Emotional, and Dance Skills.

Source: Anderson, A. (2015). Dance/Movement Therapy’s Influence on Adolescents’ Mathematics, Social-Emotional, and Dance Skills. In The Educational Forum (Vol. 79, pp. 230–247). Taylor & Francis.


Dance/movement therapy (DMT) was integrated into mathematics and social-emotional skill instruction for seventh-grade students diagnosed with learning disabilities, emotional/behavioral disabilities, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Students who participated in these integrated activities over a 1-month period demonstrated improved performance in mathematics, dance arts, and social-emotional dimensions of learning such as motivation, engagement, attention, and self-regulation. Implications for teaching and learning with special populations are discussed.

Get moving in maths: engaging students in active mathematical experiences

Source: Gleadow, J. L. (2015). Get moving in maths: engaging students in active mathematical experiences. Dissertation. University of Tasmania.


Rates of student participation in mathematics are declining, especially at the tertiary level, where in some states in Australia students’ have the option to choose mathematics. Recent research also suggests that students as young as nine are expressing negative feelings towards mathematics (Larkin & Jorgensen, 2015). A recommendation from researchers is to enable teachers of mathematics to implement pedagogical strategies, which engage students. The aim of this research project was to investigate whether there is a link between purposeful movement within mathematics and an increase in overall student engagement. This was investigated from the perspectives of both the participating teacher and her class of Grade 1 students.

Introducing Computational Thinking to Young Learners: Practicing Computational Perspectives Through Embodiment in Mathematics Education

Source: Sung, W., Ahn, J., & Black, J. B. (2017). Introducing Computational Thinking to Young Learners: Practicing Computational Perspectives Through Embodiment in Mathematics Education. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 22(3), 443–463.


A science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-influenced classroom requires learning activities that provide hands-on experiences with technological tools to encourage problem-solving skills (Brophy et al. in J Eng Educ 97(3):369–387, 2008; Mataric´ et al. in AAAI spring symposium on robots and robot venues: resources for AI education, pp 99–102, 2007). The study aimed to bring computational thinking, an applicable skill set in computer science, into existing mathematics and programming education in elementary classrooms.

Seeing the graph vs. being the graph.

Source: Gerofsky, S. (2011). Seeing the graph vs. being the graph. Integrating Gestures: The Interdisciplinary Nature of Gesture, 4.


This study is situated within a body of mathematics education that involves studies of gesture, kinesthetic learning and embodied metaphor and mathematical understandings (for example, Lakoff & Nunez 2000; Nemirovsky & Borba 2003; Goldin-Meadow, Kim & Singer 1999). It reports findings from the first two years of the author’s multi-year study exploring variations of secondary students’ gestures when asked to describe mathematical graphs. Three diagnostic categories emerged from this data with regard to learners’ degree of imaginative engagement and ability to notice mathematically salient features when encountering graphs.

Sensori-motor spatial training of number magnitude representation

Source: Fischer, U., Moeller, K., Bientzle, M., Cress, U., & Nuerk, H.-C. (2011). Sensori-motor spatial training of number magnitude representation. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18(1), 177–183.


An adequately developed spatial representation of number magnitude is associated with children’s general arithmetic achievement. Therefore, a new spatial-numerical training program for kindergarten children was developed in which presentation and response were associated with a congruent spatial numerical representation. In particular, children responded by a full-body spatial movement on a digital dance mat in a magnitude comparison task.

Walk the number line – An embodied training of numerical concepts

Source: Link, T., Moeller, K., Huber, S., Fischer, U., & Nuerk, H.-C. (2013). Walk the number line – An embodied training of numerical concepts. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 2(2), 74–84.


Basic numerical representations such as the spatial representation of number magnitude seem to develop during early childhood and predict later arithmetic abilities. Moreover, the concept of embodied cognition suggests that seemingly abstract representations may be based on bodily experiences. An embodied intervention program was developed addressing the spatial representation of number magnitude.