Week 6 - Reading Summary

Vogelstein, L., Brady, C., & Hall, R. (2019). Reenacting mathematical concepts found in large-scale dance performance can provide both material and method for ensemble learning. Zdm, 51(2), 331-346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-019-01030-2

 

Using processes of foraging and dissecting and of analysis of interactions (interaction analysis (IA)), this qualitative study looked at the interactions of two participant groups (one a quartet of grade 8 students and the other a quartet of STEM educators) as they attempted to recreate choreography from a video recording of the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympics that involves a 7’ x 7’ sheet prop. The researchers additionally analyzed their own processes in IA. Data was collected as video-recordings of a 90-minute interview (involving watching and discussing a video of a segment of the opening ceremonies, participating as a quartet in challenges related to the Rio performance, discussing the mathematics, and creating their own performance piece); these interviews were recorded with four cameras. A second source of data was video recordings of the IA by the three authors and three of their doctoral student colleagues. Analysis was conducted using iterative methods, supported by limited transcriptions, “toon strips” (sequences of still images), and agent-based pseudocode.

Results are presented in relation to each of the two participant quartets and the analysis of the researchers’ own IA methods. The results indicate that foraging in cultural performances can contribute to design learning environments and that dissection and re-enactment of these performances can provide an environment that fuses dance and mathematics as a hybrid activity. The use of a prop was seen to support ensemble learning by connecting the participants. The re-enactment and design of the participants’ own performances resulted in application and challenge of mathematical understanding. The researchers connect the importance of the prop to ensemble mathematics. The researchers themselves engaged with re-enactment of the STEM educators’ performance in order to develop understanding, showing that re-enactment and ensemble work support comprehension and the authors consider this a contribution to IA methods.

Here is Youtube video of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony that was used in the study.  The segment that participants viewed and re-created starts at approximate 12:10.