Carmen Smith, CESS Assistant Professor of Math Education, has created quite a media buzz recently in and outside the math education world, both at home and abroad.  For those of you who have read the excellent January article featuring Carmen's research investigating the use of body-based activities to teach math, written by University Communications Jon Reidel (link below), it should come as no surprise that the story has spread across the digital landscape and been picked up by several publications of note in Europe and at home. 

For those who haven’t read the article, what has created the buzz is Carmen’s innovative, and frankly novel, use of Kinect for Windows mathematics program to teach math to elementary school students, using dynamic body movements to demonstrate math concepts.  And to do this rather than following the customary practice of looking at static chalkboard or textbook images that students are then expected to understand. It is a technique that draws on cognitive science research on embodied cognition, a theory which contends that the brain works in concert with physical movement to produce understanding.  

You can read Carmen’s exciting research study in the recent issue of The Journal of Mathematical Behavior,  “Learning Angles Through Movement: Critical actions for developing understanding in an embodied activity” (Volume 36, December 2014, Pages 95-108). 

Below are sites for those interested in taking a look at where information about Carmen’s research has appeared.  You can find more by googling "Carmen Petrick Smith math movement."  Some of the websites have written their own articles based on the same research. Forthcoming will be a blog post on the Kinect for Windows blog, and an article in Education Daily.

 Reidel, J. (2015, January 21). Mastering math through movement. UVM Today. Retrieved from http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=news&storyID=19960 <http://www.uvm.edu/%7Euvmpr/?Page=news&storyID=19960>

(This was featured on Science Daily <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150126135210.htm> and Phys.org <http://phys.org/news/2015-01-kinect-windows-technology-elementary-school.html> among other places.)

Bawab, N. (2015, January 28). Video game technology could help students better understand math principles. The Daily Texan. Retrieved from http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2015/01/28/video-game-technology-could-help-studentsbetter-understand-math-principles

(The Daily Texan is the school newspaper for UT Austin.  Carmen went to graduate school there, and did a separate interview with this reporter.)

Von Christian, H. (2015, January 28). Schüler lernen besser Geometrie, wenn sie vor einer Kinect herumtanzen. WIRED Germany. Retreived from https://www.wired.de/collection/latest/bewegung-hilft-beim-mathe-lernen

Math exercises get physical with Kinect-using teacher. (2015, January 30).  /Yahoo! Tech/.  Retrieved from https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/math-exercises-physical-kinect-using-teacher-145205004.html

Mastering math through movement using Kinect for Windows. (2015, January 27). Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence News. Retrieved from http://www.kurzweilai.net/mastering-maththrough-movement-using-kinect-for-windows

Leblanc, D. (2015, February 5).  Apprendre la géométrie avec la Kinect?  /École branchée/.  Retreived from http://www.infobourg.com/2015/02/05/apprendre-la-geometrie-avec-la-kinect/

Halsell, L. (2015, January 29).  Movement based instruction helps kids learn math.  /Integrated Listening Systems./  Retrieved from http://integratedlistening.com/movement-based-instruction-helps-students-learn-math/

Michael, J.  (2015, January 29).  Using kinect for windows to teach elementary school geometry.  /Howtolearn.com <http://Howtolearn.com>./  Retreived from http://www.howtolearn.com/2015/01/using-kinect-for-windows-to-teach-elementary-school-geometry/