Minggu, 01 April 2012

Reflection I - Learning Mathematics Using Mathematical Songs

Reflection for Learning Mathematics Using Mathematical Songs

Last Monday, on March 19th 2012, Mr. Marsigit as my English lecturer thought me about new method to teach mathematics. New? Yes, new for me. This method is very interesting to implement in the class. Can you guess what method that I talk about? Yes, learning mathematics using mathematical songs. Is it very interesting, right?
            Each day, everybody in this world hears music. Music lies in every part of our life. Actually, I think that no one hates music. Every body likes music. Music makes us can feel anything that the song tells about easily, like: sadness, happiness, disappointment, anger, and etc. In other side, mathematics is very important. This mother of science is very useful in our life.  "Counting sheep when you're trying to sleep, being fair when there's something to share, being neat when you're folding a sheet…That's mathematics…When a ball bounces off of a wall, when you cook from a recipe book, when you know how much money you owe…That's mathematics…" That was the part of the lyric from a mathematical song by Tom Lehrer. Tom Lehrer's song tells us about usefulness of mathematics in many aspects of our life. But, that was only a little part of the usefulness of mathematics. There are many other kinds of usefulness that can we get from mathematics. Do you want to reach the moon? Use mathematics. Do you want to make an airplane? Use mathematics. Do you want to build a huge building? Use mathematics. Do you want to sell something with a big profit? Use mathematics. Do you want to pay zakat? Use mathematics. Do you want to draw? Use mathematics. Do you want to cook? Use mathematics. Do you want to plant corn in the field? Use mathematics. So, mathematics is very important.
Unfortunately, today, many students hate mathematics. They think that mathematics is very hard to understand. Maybe, they also think that mathematics just like ghost (momok) that is very strange and frightening for them. If they only have to solve mathematical problem, they get a big stress. So, teacher must find a method that can make students think that mathematics is easy and funny. One of alternative way to teach about easy and funny mathematics is using music or song.
 Like a music that lies in every part of our life, actually, mathematics lies in every part of our life too. So, why don't we combine those two important things for study purposes? It will be very interesting to teach the important thing like mathematics that is hated using music or song that is loved, right? I think this is a way that can makes the students can enjoy mathematics learning process in the class. Song or music makes students feel interesting to learn about mathematics and also make them easier to understand about mathematics. So, what are we waiting for? Here they are, the mathematical songs that I know from Mister Marsigit's class:




1. That's Mathematics! by Tom Lehrer;
Counting sheep, when you're trying to sleep
Being fair, when there's something to share
Being neat, when you're folding a sheet
That's mathematics
When a ball, bounces off of a wall
When you cook, from a recipe book
When you know, how much money you owe
That's mathematics
How much gold can you hold in an elephant's ear?
When its noon, then what time is it here?
If you could count for a year…
Would you get to infinity? Or somewhere in that vicinity?
When you choose, how much postage to use
When you know, what's the chance it will snow
When you bet, and you end up in debt
Oh try as you may, you just can't get away from mathematics!
Andrew Wyles, Gently Smiles, does his thing and voila!
QED we agree and we all shout "hurrah!"
As he confirms what Fermat, Jotted down in that margin, which could've used some enlarging
Tap your feet, keep in time to a beat
Of a song, while you're singing along
Harmonise, with the rest of the guys
Yes try as you may, you just can't get away
From mathematics!

Reflection of "That's Mathematics" song:
I think this mathematical song is very useful to make students can understand about the usefulness of mathematics in our world. When we study about something, actually we will ask, "What is the connectivity between this subject with my life?".

Exactly, this Tom Lehrer's song has answer of the question using many examples.  Those examples in this song are easy to found in our daily life, like: counting sheep, folding a sheet, bouncing ball, cooking from recipe book, counting for a year, and etc. So, students can understand about the purpose in study mathematics easily.  Students will realize about "How important mathematics is!".

Beside that, this song is very cheerful. Its rhythm is very interesting in middle speed. I think it is not make listeners are boring to hear this song.  If you hear this song, I think you will want to hear this song twice, thrice, or more. So, what are you waiting for? Let's here this mathematical song to understand the usefulness of mathematics in our life!
2. Mean, Median, and Mode;
Mean, median, and mode
How do you find the mean?
Add up the numbers in the data sheet
Divide the total by the number of items
The answer is the mean or average
Mean, median, and mode
How do you find the median?
Arrange the numbers in order, from the lowest to the highest values
The middle number is the median for an odd number of items
The average of two middle numbers is the median for an even number of items
Mean, median, and mode
Mean, median, and mode
How do you find the mode?
Just find the number that repeats most often
And the number is the mode
If you find no number that repeats most often, then there is no mode
Mean, median, and mode
Mean, median, and mode
Mean, median, and mode

Reflection of "Mean, median, and mode" song:
Wowwww! When I hear this song, actually I surprised with it. It is very unique song for me. The rhythm in this song is very different with other song. I think I was in fashion show when I hear this song. The music as if tells me about that. I don't know. But I think it is very interesting.

If the first song tells us about the usefulness of mathematics, this song is different. Mean, median, and mode song tell us about specific content of mathematics, such as: the definition and formula to find mean, the definition and formula to find median, the definition and formula to find mode, and etc.

      This kind of song makes students can easy to understand about mathematical contents and also makes students easy to remember that. So, do you find any difficulties about mean, median, or mode? Don't worry! Let's hear this mean, median, and mode song!

3. What You Know about Math?;
      What you know about math?
What you know about math?
What you know about math?
Hey, don't you know I represent math league when I add shorty subtract
Freshman backpack where I holdin' all my work at
      What you know about math?
What you know about math?
What you know about math?
I know all about math
Answer's 44 it's real easy cus it's sig figs
     You got 45 your answers high you rounded too big
      What you know about math?
What you know about math?
What you know about math?
I know all about math
TI-80 silver edition know I'm shinin' dog
Extra memory on the back to do my natural log
You know we multiply while memorizing pi
Take limits to the sky be sure to simplify
Graphing utility it's trigonometry 100 our math B
Don't you cheat off me
Distance is rate times time
The sign graph ain't no line
Exponential decline
But your score can't beat mine
We're memorizing rate for our math league states
Against the math league greats
Not getting many dates
I got to find a mate but girls just playa hate and always make me wait
Can't even integrate
Don't you know I represent math league when I add shorty subtract
Freshman backpack where I holdin' all my work at
      What you know about math?
What you know about math?
What you know about math?
I know all about math

Reflection of "What You Know about Math?" song:
     Wowww! Mathematics is very fun. Maybe, this is the main idea which will "what you know about math?" song tells about.

Today, many young people like rap music. Wait, maybe not only young people like that but also adults. Why? I think it because rap music has a high-speed rhythm. So, it will make people have more spirit to hear that kind of music.

So, why don't we use this advantage to make people or student very interested in mathematics? And this is the answer.

But, sometimes I think this kind of mathematical song is hard to understand. Exactly, for the students from foreign country that do not use English as communication language in their daily life. It will make them have difficulties to understand the social term of English, such as:  cus, playa, and sig.

4.   The Math Song from Lazy Song of Bruno Mars;
Today, I don't feel like doing anything
I just wanna focus on math
Domain and range and rate of change
It all makes me go insane
Today I don't feel like doing anything
Now let's sketch graphs
Try to figure out how to represent relations
Ordered pairs and tables are the destination
Learn about this function notation
I'll be graphing linear function
And interpreting relations
Did you know y=mx+b
So in my math class, I'll get good grades
Oh yes, I know, I know
I said it cause I know
Today I don't feel like doing anything
I just wanna focus on math
Domain and range and rate of change
It all makes me go insane
Today I don't feel like doing anything
Now let's sketch graphs
Tomorrow I'll wake up
And do some more graphing
Gonna ace my test and stop all that slacking
And I'm gonna out "I did great!"
I'm gonna walk around
And show all my friends
I bet my old man will be so proud of me
Don't worry pops, I'll keep doing great
Oh yes I aced it, I aced it
I aced it caused I can
Today I don't feel like doing anything
I just wanna focus on math
Domain and range and rate of change
It all makes me go insane
Today I don't feel like doing anything
Now let's sketch graphs
Oh I know what a function is
One element of the domain goes with the range
There are different types of variable
The dependent and independent
The relationship between two sets of things
Today I don't feel like doing anything
I just wanna focus on math
Domain and range and rate of change
It all makes me go insane
Today I don't feel like doing anything
Now let's sketch graphs

Reflection of the Mathematical Song from Lazy Song of Bruno Mars:
Did you get a big stress before do a mathematics test? Did you find any difficulties to understand about mathematics content before do the test? Aha! I have a solution for you. Why don't you tell your feeling with this kind of mathematical song? Beside that, you can also tell about the concept of mathematics to make you it's easy to understand and easy to remember that.

In my opinion, this song is very creative song. This song uses a popular song to makes mathematical song more interesting. Who don't know this Bruno Mars' song? So, this song helps us to remember about mathematical contents easily because we have known about this song before. What are you waiting for? Let's hear your Bruno Mars' song in mathematics version!

5. Multiplication Song.
Three times one is three
Three times two is six
Three times three is, three times three is, three times three is nine
Three times four equals twelve
Get those place third of the self
Three times four equals twelve

Three times five equal fifteen common
Three times six is eighteen sing along
Three times seven is twenty one
Common it has some find
Three times eight is twenty four
There are houses…with some more
Three times nine one is twenty seven
You know twice…you havin'

Four times one is four
For times two is eight
And here is ten thousand
Four times three is twelve
Four times four is sixteen
How when I
Four times five is twenty
That's go on
Alone
Four times six is twenty four
Love to
Four times seven is simply twenty eight
Four times eight simply thirty two
Four times nine is thirty six
When you love
Four times ten is forty and
Mountain
And learn
The using the number four

Reflection of "Multiplication Song":
Honestly, I don't really like this song. Why? I think the reason why is because this multiplication song has very slow speed rhythm. So, this song just like death song that makes student can feel bored and frighten to hear this song. I don't know. But I think this multiplication content of mathematics will be thought in second grade or maybe first grade in elementary school.

Can you imagine the elementary school's students are? Yes, they like playing and like something fun and something interesting. Do you think they will be interested in something like death song? Of course not. So, I give an advice for make a more cheerful song about this multiplication concept. Exactly, it will help students in elementary school more interested in the song and multiplication concept.

My Own Song

Beside hear those mathematical songs, Mister Marsigit gives to me and my friends an opportunity to create our own mathematical song. He also gives us time to show our songs off in front of the class. I am very happy to do that task. So, I make my own mathematical song wholeheartedly and this is it:

Number Sequences-Ost Full House
Number Sequences, number sequences
Do you know about the number sequence?
Those are defined as the numbers
which are set up by certain rule
Reff:
There are two types of the number sequences
The first one is arithmatic sequence
In this sequence, we have a constant number
as a divergent (b)
You can get b by certain formula
Un+1-Un of course
If b positive, we can call this sequence
as an up sequence
How about if b is a negative?
It is easy, to call this sequence as down sequence
As down sequence, as down sequence

Number sequences, number sequences
Do you know the other number sequence?
The second type beside arithmatic sequence

Reff:
There's a second type of number sequences
This second is geometric sequence
In this sequence, we have a constant number
as a ratio(r)
You can get r by certain formula
Un+1/Un of course
If r more than one, we  can call this sequence
as an up sequence
How about if r between 0 and 1?
It's so easy, to call this sequence as down sequence
As down sequence, as down sequence

Number sequences, number sequences
You have known about the number sequences
In the end, give me a time
give me a time
to say good bye
to say good byeeee
to say..........good bye

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