Content uploaded by Meryem Gülyaz Cumhur
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Meryem Gülyaz Cumhur on Mar 22, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 2016, 12(6), 1487-1498
doi: 10.12973/eurasia.2016.1262a
Copyright © 2016 by the author/s; licensee iSER, Ankara, TURKEY. This is an open access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original paper is accurately cited.
ISSN: 1305-8223 http://iserjournals.com/journals/ejmste
The Spatial-Temporal
Reasoning States of Children
Who Play a Musical
Instrument, Regarding the
Mathematics Lesson:
Teachers’ Views
Murat Tezer, Meryem Cumhur & Emine Hürsen
Near East University, NORTH CYPRUS
Received 20 November 2015Revised 20 January 2016 Accepted 21 January 2016
The aim of this study is to try to investigate the spatial-temporal reasoning states of
primary school children between the ages 8 and 11 who play an instrument, regarding
mathematics lessons from the teachers’ views. This current study is both qualitative and
quantitative in nature. In other words, the mixed research method was used in the
study. Regarding the teachers’ views, the memories of these students in mathematics
and music lessons were found to be “excellent”. Also, their effective use of numbers and
visual intelligence in music lessons was found to be “excellent”. As a result, it was seen
that there was a significant but weak correlation between the spatial-temporal
reasoning states of children who played an instrument, regarding the mathematics
lesson, and the abilities of playing an instrument.
Keywords: mathematics, music, reasoning, spatial, temporal
INTRODUCTION
While mathematics is an element of science, music is an art. These two disciplines
have been compared and associated with each other since ancient times (Bora,
2002). The research carried out so far has shown that music education develops
brain activities and has an impact on mathematics performance (Hallam, 2010).
Researchers think that abstract mathematics cannot be done with young children;
however, they believe that making them listen to music, which would be their
favourite, would provide them with higher brain functions (Crncec, Wilson & Prior,
2006). Shaw (2000) pointed out that music education, especially if started with pre-
Correspondence: Murat Tezer,
Primary Mathematics Education Department, Near East University, Nicosia, North
Cyprus, 99138, Mersin on Turkey.
E-mail: Murat.tezer@neu.edu.tr
M. Tezer et. al
1488 © 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498
schoolers, affects the child’s spatial-temporal
reasoning and this, in return, can affect his/her
mathematics performance positively in the future.
In addition spatio-reasoning can be associated
with improvisation. This ability can be seen in the
early stages of childhood and is developed during
their music studies. Johnson-Laird (1991, 2002)
studied the creativity process and he argues that
improvisation can be made easier for experienced
people; however, if early stage children have the
ability for improvisation, it can being as a simple
process for them by using their short-term memory.
Crncec, Wilson & Prior (2006) have
demonstrated that there is no evidence claiming
that people with high intelligence have good musical
performance; nonetheless, people with good
musical performance often have good mathematical
intelligence and mathematical thinking ability too.
Children with good spatial-temporal reasoning can
display mathematical thinking ability in their early
childhood and are capable of doing puzzles, playing
with blocks, drawing pictures and playing an
instrument. Also, these children with good spatial-
temporal reasoning could be good musicians,
architects, carpenters, sculptors, organizers or
painters who can draw pictures of three
dimensional objects.
One of the significant researchers in the
literature, Beer (1998), expressed which main
elements of music have a relationship with
mathematics. He claimed that the elements that are
claimed to have a relationship with mathematics are
notes, tones, scales and harmony. Beer (1998)
pointed out that there are certain mathematical concepts in music, which are also
considered to be an important subject; some of these are rhythm, melody and music
notation.
Another important factor of music and mathematics association is “The Mozart
Effect” defined as the ability of a Mozart sonata to improve the listener’s
mathematical and reasoning abilities (Marsh, 1999). There have been numerous
research papers and experiments done by prominent researchers so far about this
(Kliewer, 1999; Shaw, 2000). Generally, it is known that “The Mozart Effect” is very
effective on children and, moreover, the literature is rich with research and
experiments supporting this. For instance, “The Mozart Effect” that is used as an
example for the cognitive skills of pre-school children, is also measured in a study to
find out the effect of spatial skills and the results showed that there was a 30%
increase in spatial perception tests of children who were exposed to listen to works
of Mozart for only 10 minutes. After that successful increase in spatial perception
tests, the same researchers searched whether there were similar effects using
modern music; however, the results demonstrated that there was no effect found
(Rauscher, et al., 1997).
There is another important point to be mentioned here that the rhythm studies
that are particularly implemented in pre-school education are associated with
mathematics and musical experiences, also play a significant role in gaining spatial
relations and shape concepts at young ages (Rauscher, et al, 1997). Along with this,
State of the literature
Playing an instrument activates the temporal
dimension, which is also known as the
sequential processing function, located in the
left hemisphere of the brain.
Playing an instrument plays an efficient role,
particularly for the positive impact of
performance over mathematics.
Music education is not just associated with
mathematics at young ages, it is also known
that music education promotes language
learning, reading and writing skills and
playing an instrument
Contribution of this paper to the literature
The main contribution of this paper to the
literature is to try to point out the spatial-
temporal reasoning states of primary school
children between the ages 8 and 11 who play
an instrument, regarding mathematics lessons
from the teachers’ views.
Those children who play instruments can use
numbers effectively in mathematics lessons
and have a “very good” memory.
This paper provides a significant contribution
to the literature on the correlation between
the musical instrument playing skills of
students and spatial-temporal reasoning
states towards mathematics for students who
play an instrument.
The spatıal-temporal reasonıng states of chıldren
© 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498 1489
it is also stressed that mathematical thinking and mathematical relations lie at the
basis of music. Besides this, music education is not just associated with mathematics
at young ages, it is also known that music education promotes language learning,
reading and writing skills and playing an instrument (Rauscher, et al., 1997;
Bilhartz, et al., 1997; Dikici, 2002; Hallam, 2010; Öziskender & Gudek, 2013).
The approach adopted by the elementary mathematics curriculum started to be
implemented in Northern Cyprus in 2006, revised in 2011, involved mathematical
thinking, problem solving, building associations and using mathematics as a
language of communication and modelling skills. These are known as the basic
elements of learning and doing mathematics processes (MEB, 2014). In the
curriculum, it is stressed that a student is required to have certain qualities, like
problem solving, reasoning, communication (abstract mathematics, setting up a
bridge and etc.), guessing strategies and building associations (in daily life, other
lessons, etc.).
As it can clearly be seen, mathematical thinking is one of the skills that is
considered necessary to teach to students in mathematics teaching. The importance
of teaching this skill is also underlined by one of the most prominent institutions,
called the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), which provides
mathematics education. In Principles and Standards that was published by NCTM
(2000: 4), it was defined that the need for understanding and acknowledging
mathematics in daily life was gradually increasing and that there was more need for
problem solving and mathematical thinking in a number of professional fields, from
health to graphic designing.
Akkaş (1993) believed that children begin showing their reactions towards music
before their birth and it is possible to observe children’s interests and abilities in
music after they are born. It is pointed out that children who receive music
education are not only successful in musical fields, but they are also successful in
other fields of education and are given new points of view with the music education
that they receive. It is also stressed that practising music increases the feeling of
success, provides ways of being proud of oneself, as well as promoting one’s trust in
himself/herself (Lazdauskas, 1996).
Today the grade exams of the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music
(ABRSM) are frequently held in the Northern Cyprus, as they are held all over of the
world. Harvey (1994: 8) stated that the grade exams are worldwidely popular and
this popularity is because people want to increase in their musical ability therefore,
the number of people taking these grade exams every year has increased and has
now reached 350.000 per year. However, the format of these exams does not
change. Hallam (1998), defined the exam format as: 3 repertory works from the
grade book editions that change in certain years and for technical studies there are
scales and arpeggios, sight-reading and aural works (Grade exams are from 1 to 8,
and a student can finish up to grade 5 throughout primary education in general).
Although there is significant research in the literature pointing out that there are
important advantages of the grade music exams, some other prominent researchers
have not been so positive about them. Hallam (2002) believed that passing grade
exams with a high score increases children’s motivation. Likewise, Taylor (1982)
claimed that grade exams give children a chance to develop their music abilities. On
the other hand, Davidson and Scutt (1999) clearly stated that a child could lose
his/her concentration, feel disappointed and even could even make the decision not
to continue doing music if they failed a grade exam. It is also stated that children
would only improve in the subjects that are included in the grade exam’s curriculum.
Thus, any other subject of music education, which remains outside the grade exams
curriculum, would not be offered to the students.
Playing an instrument activates the temporal dimension, which is also known as
the sequential processing function, located in the left hemisphere of the brain and it
M. Tezer et. al
1490 © 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498
plays an efficient role, particularly for the positive impact of performance over
mathematics. The concept of spatial is about to what extend the shape and
appearance of a three dimensional object can be imagined. Here, it means to be able
to envisage and distinguish the details without seeing the object itself (Talu, 1999;
Arnold & Fonseca, 2004). Reasoning on its own, is not sufficient, it has to function
sequentially. For example, a student could understand a question by reasoning, but
may, nonetheless, have some problems while solving it. Therefore, it is important for
this to continue sequentially (understanding the question, solving it correctly and
finding the correct answer) (Tekin, 2007).
The research carried out in the literature so far has shown that students
demonstrate more success in the problems which require them to find the answer
by directly applying it and which do not require any interpreting or reasoning. Music
and mathematics are closely connected with each other and music as a branch has a
positive impact on mathematics. Reasoning is an important factor for solving a
problem in mathematics, but being time wise and sequential is more important for
this (Önal, 2012).
Hetland (2000a) carried out several meta-analysis studies to examine the impact
of music lessons over spatial-temporal reasoning and other skills. The works of
Hetland consisted of nine unpublished and 15 published analyses. These studies
were done on 701 children, who attended music lessons from four months to two
years and were aged between three and 12 years. Therefore, one could conclude
that in his published works, Hetland underlined that children who continued to have
music lessons improved their spatial-temporal reasoning skills.
It is acknowledged that enabling students to gain mathematical thinking skills in
mathematics teaching and, even in all disciplines, is very important, although it may
not be too easy to implement. It is well known that the socio-economic status level
influences success. One of the requirements to be fulfilled in order to be an
information society in an information age, in today’s process of globalization, in the
global competitive environment, in less developed and developed countries, is to
receive a musical education or to play an instrument. There is no doubt that this
situation is more popular in developed countries than developing countries, where
playing an instrument and receiving musical education are considered important
(Önür, 2013).
There is a lot of research about academic success, regarding mathematics and
music, which are the two crucial elements of human life (Bora, 2002; Dikici, 2002;
Hallam, 2010). In particular, in developed countries, the correlation between spatial-
temporal reasoning towards mathematics lessons of primary school students
preparing for music grade exams is quite significant. The presence of this correlation
may increase the importance of grade exams and may develop spatial-temporal
reasoning of students better in mathematics lessons in the primary school period.
This is believed to be reflected in their academic success (Crncec, Wilson, & Prior,
2006). However, there has been no research carried out about the spatial-temporal
reasoning of children who play a musical instrument in the mathematics lesson.
Therefore, this study aims to identify the views of both classroom (mathematics)
and music teachers regarding the spatial-temporal reasoning of children in the
maths lesson, who play an instrument and the correlation between them.
METHOD
Research design
This current study is both qualitative and quantitative in nature. In other words,
the mix d research method was used in the study. In this way, all the strong aspects
of qualitative e and quantitative data were reflected in the research findings
The spatıal-temporal reasonıng states of chıldren
© 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498 1491
(Büyüköztürk, et. al., 2011). In the qualitative research method, for teachers’ views
about the participant students, semi-structured interview questions were used. In
addition, how and why students chose their musical instrument was discussed
(Figure 1). In the quantitative method, however, two different scales were
developed. The first consisted of seven items and recorded the views of music
teachers about the musical instrument playing skills of students (MIPS) and the
second one consisted of eleven items and recorded the views of classroom teachers
about the spatial-temporal reasoning states (STRS) of children in the maths lesson,
who played an instrument. Thus, the data obtained from these two scales was
blended with the qualitative data. The study was carried out in spring semester of
the 2014-2015 academic years.
Study group
To fit the purpose of the current study, only the students who could play at least
one instrument and had entered grade exams before, were included in the research.
The study group was formed from classroom and music teachers who taught 120
students in three state and three private primary schools located in Nicosia,
Northern Cyprus. These 120 primary school students (aged between 6 and 11) were
the ones getting ready for grade exams. Questionnaires in two parts were given to
music and classroom teachers who taught these students. Of these students, 53%
were at grade 1 level, 10% of them were at grade 2, 20% of them were at grade 3,
13% of them were at grade 4 and 4% of them were at grade 5 level. These
percentages are given in Table 1.
Figure 1. Why students choose their musical instrument
Table 1. Grade levels of students who were included in the research
Grades
Percentages (%)
Grade 1
53
Grade 2
10
Grade 3
20
Grade 4
13
Grade 5
4
M. Tezer et. al
1492 © 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498
Data collection instrument and application
For the purpose of the study, there was a need for two different measuring
instruments to be used, in order to determine the views of both the class teacher
and the music teacher to identify STRS of every primary school student in the maths
lesson who also played an instrument. Therefore, with the aim of forming the items
of the scale, 20 classroom teachers serving in state and private schools of the
Ministry of Education were asked to write a composition regarding their emotions,
views and attitudes of students’ reasoning in the mathematics lesson and music
teachers were also asked to write a composition regarding students’ instrument
playing and being successful in grades. Also, the relevant literature was reviewed
before forming items towards STRS in the mathematics lesson and it was decided
which item was appropriate for mathematical performance, and temporal-spatial
reasoning (Table 7). Items focussing on getting prepared for students’ MIPS, the
grade exams of the ABRSM, were also taken into consideration (Taylor, 1982).
Through the content analysis carried out for the compositions written and, as a
result of the literature review, eight items were written for the views of the music
teachers on students’ MIPS and twelve items were written for the views of
mathematics teachers on students’ STRS in the mathematics lesson. Altogether,
twenty view items were written. For content and face validity of the scale, the views
of two primary school classroom teachers and six university lecturers of the
departments of mathematics education and curriculum and instruction were taken.
As the result of the experts’ examination, one item was taken out from the
mathematics scale. Items were also analysed by a language expert. Thus, according
to the experts’ views, necessary corrections were done and the draft form was
developed into the final form of the two scales and these were developed for
determining both the STRS and MIPS of students in the mathematics lesson that also
played a musical instrument.
It was recommended that the number of items should be two times more
considering the factor analysis of the group size and item analysis (Kline, 2014). For
the validity and reliability analysis of the testing form as a data collection
instrument, it was applied to 50 teachers as a pre-testing group of 50 students. In
the research, for reactions given for the items that were 20 in total on both scales, a
5-point Likert-type scale was preferred. The participants were asked to classify each
item into one of the five categories on the scales as: very weak, weak, average, good,
and very good. In order to make a general interpretation for the mean values of: 1-
1.80 = very weak, 1.81-2.60 = weak, 2.61-3.40 = average, 3.41-4.20 = good, 4.21-5 =
very good, were taken according to the students’ statement. For obtaining the total
points for each participant, the most positive category was given five points and the
most negative category was given one point and the answers gathered were scored
between one and five points. In choosing items for the scale, it was decided that the
value of the total item correlation coefficient would be over 30. Cronbach’s Alpha
technique was used for the validity of the scales. In general, reliabilities of less than
0.60 were considered poor, those between 0.60 and 0.70 were acceptable, and those
over 0.80 were good. A reliable instrument is one that gives consistent results
(Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006). The values for STRS and MIPS obtained were 0.98 and
0.91, respectively, and this indicates that both of the scales were very reliable. As the
result of pre-testing, for the views of the music teachers towards MIPS, seven items
were found to be clear. Likewise, for the views of the classroom teachers of the same
students towards STRS, eleven items were found to be clear. In addition, nine
questions of the semi-structured interview forms, which were confirmed by the
experts, were formed in order to identify the musical and mathematical states of
each student. Before the scales were taken their final form, after being implemented
to the pre-testing group (classroom teachers), the advantages and limitations of
The spatıal-temporal reasonıng states of chıldren
© 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498 1493
spatial-temporal reasoning in the mathematics lesson were well explained. The
researchers distributed the questionnaires to the teachers and collected them at the
end of the interviews.
Data analysis
The data collected through questionnaires from state and private primary
schools was analysed by the researchers themselves using the SPSS 20.0
programme. In the data analysis, in order to identify the views of classroom and
music teachers who took part in the sampling, percentages, means, factors and total
variance analysis about each sub problem were tabulated and the necessary
evaluations were carried out.
Factor analysis is seen as the most effective technique of all by many researchers
(Kahn, 2006). To test whether the data and the number of samples were appropriate
for the factor analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity
(BTS) were carried out. For the data to be appropriate for the factor analysis the
KMO should be over 60 and the Bartlett’s test result should be statistically
significant (Büyüköztürk et. al., 2011). The KMO value for the items of STRS was
found to be 0.947, whereas it was found to be 0.901 for the items of MIPS. The BTS
result indicated that both of the STRS and MIPS had p = 0.000 < 0.05, which meant
that the matrix where there were correlations between items was different from the
unit matrix where there were no relations. Also, the scree plot graphics showed that
a sharp decrease demonstrated that both of the scales had single-factor structures
and no rotation process was performed at the end of this. For the STRS, the total
variance that was explained by a single factor was 85.15%, however, this percentage
was 70.18% for the MIPS instrument. On the other hand, close examination of the
results of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was carried out for STRS and for MIPS
instruments, it was seen that they were not normally distributed (p<0.05).
Therefore, in order to specify the correlation between the two, Spearman rho (rs)
was used. Generally, Spearman correlation coefficients can range between a
negative one (-1.00) and a positive one (+1.00). Positive coefficients indicate direct
relationships, while negative coefficients indicate inverse relationships. The
correlation value is weak if it is between 0-0.30, average if it is between 0.30-0.70
and high if it is between 0.70-1 (Büyüköztürk, et. al., 2011).
FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS
At the end of the interviews, which formed the qualitative dimension of the
research, there were questions for students on how many years they had received
education in playing a musical instrument, at what age they started which musical
instrument they played. The aim of the classification in this study is to state that the
students have the background of music and they have approximately 2 to 3 years
music education.
As Table 2 demonstrates, 60% of students had been taking musical education
between 1 and 2 years, 32% of them between 3 and 4 years and 8% of them
between 5 and 6 years. One percent of students started to receive their education in
Table 2. Students’ who were included in the research, their ages, music education years and musical
instruments
Years
Education
(Percentages %)
Ages
Percentages (%)
Instruments
Percentages (%)
1-2
60
3
1
Piano
51
3-4
32
4
4
Violin
16
5-6
8
5
6
Flute
16
6
16
Guitar
13
7+
73
Drums
4
M. Tezer et. al
1494 © 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498
playing instruments at age 3, 4% of them at age 4, 6% of them at age 5 and 16% of
them at age 6. Also, 51% of the students included in the research played the piano,
13% of them played the guitar, 16% of them played the violin, 4% of them played
the drums and 16% of them played the flute.
As Table 3 demonstrates, the views of music teachers about students playing
instruments indicate that 24% of the students were skilled and successful, 19% of
them had a very good rhythm and melody memory. Also, it was specified that 10%
of them were diligent, curious, and successful and studied carefully. The rest of the
views are given in Table 3.
In Table 4, the views of classroom teachers show that 44% of the students who
played instruments were disciplined and successful in the mathematics lesson but
10% of them, on the other hand, would be more successful if they studied regularly
and increased their attention. For rest of them, it was stated that they were sociable,
intelligent and diligent but needed to be encouraged. Some other teachers’ views
indicated that 3% of them were weak, needed help or their success was not at the
required level.
Results showed that 93% of the participants did like playing their musical
instruments, however, 7% of them did not and the reason for this was that the
students did not want to study as can be seen in Table 5. It should not be ignored
that, in the teaching process, students are expected to be diligent and hard-working
and this is considered to be a very important factor.
Another finding obtained showed us that 7% of the students did not like the
mathematics lesson very much, 30% of them liked it at an average level and 63% of
Table 3. The views of music teachers about the students playing an instrument
Percentage
Views
19
Has a very good rhythm and melody memory
24
Is a skilled and successful student
10
Studies carefully
7
Should increase sight reading lessons
2
Enjoys studying
2
Finds playing the violin difficult
7
Is skilled and hardworking
7
Is successful and hardworking
5
Needs to study more
10
Is curious, diligent and successful
2
Has a very good rhythm sensation
2
Plays the piano willingly and enthusiastically
2
Loves playing the piano
Table 4 . The views of classroom teachers about the students who played an instrument
Percentage
Views
10
Will be more successful if he/she increases his/her attention
44
Is a disciplined and successful student
10
His/her success will increase if he/she studies regularly
3
He/she is a sociable student
3
Is intelligent but needs encouragement
1
Grasps topics well
1
Is very good at solving problems
1
Is a quiet student
3
Is a diligent student
1
Should revise regularly
1
Is successful, hardworking and curious
1
Is better at visuals
1
Needs special attention
1
Studies regularly
1
Gets bored quickly
1
His/her success is not at the required level
3
Is weak and needs help
The spatıal-temporal reasonıng states of chıldren
© 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498 1495
them loved it very much. However, it is very well known that every student cannot
like mathematics lessons; moreover, the classroom teacher plays a big role in
making students like mathematics. Mathematics that is one of the most lugubrious
lessons to be loved very much by the majority of the students.
The correlation level of teachers’ views between the MIPS and STRS
For a determination of the correlation level of teachers’ views between the MIPS
and STRS, Spearman’s Rho test was carried out and the Spearman’s Rho correlation
coefficient was found to be 0.21 (p<0.01). The result shows that there is a significant
weak correlation between the MIPS and STRS towards mathematics for students
who play an instrument.
Table 6 shows 11 basic items about students’ spatial-temporal reasoning states
in maths lessons. From our observations, the spatial-temporal reasoning states in
items 11 is essential for the children’s perception of mathematics lessons and is in
accordance with expert analysis of spatial and temporal reasoning theories which
have been compiled. It can be seen in Table 6 that, those children who play
instruments can use numbers effectively in mathematics lessons and have a “very
good” memory.
In the rest of the items, which are: to what extent can the student establish a link
between concepts?, to what extent can the student make a classification?, how the
student perceives geometry, how good is the student’s ability is to see details and
envision an object without seeing it?, how good is the student at comprehending
question solving by correctly finding the answer?, how the student uses sequential
processing functions while solving a problem, how well the student uses
mathematics in other lessons and how successful the student is at problems that
require solving directly at the rate of “good”.
Finally, when Table 7 is taken into consideration, it can be said that children who
play musical instruments are all “good” at playing a musical instrument from ear,
counting correctly while harmonising the rhythm, classifying similar rhythm
structures while reading musical notes, recognising the melody heard, reading
musical notes by reasoning. Also, the rates of visual intelligence and memory in
Table 5. The views of students who do not like playing musical instruments
Number
Reason
1
Gets bored
1
Finds work difficult
1
Finds playing the violin difficult
4
Does not want to study
Table 6. The item means of the scale of STRS
Mean
Rate
M1
How effective can student X use the numbers? (Mathematics Performance)
4.22
Very Good
M2
To what extent can student X establish a link between concepts? (Reasoning)
4.05
Good
M3
To what extent can student X distinguish patterns? (Reasoning)
4.01
Good
M4
To what extent can student X make a classification? (Reasoning)
4.00
Good
M5
How good is student X’s memory in the mathematics lesson? (Temporal)
4.21
Very Good
M6
How does student X perceive geometry? (Spatial)
4.16
Good
M7
How good is student X’s ability to see details and envision an object without seeing it?
(Spatial)
4.00
Good
M8
How good is student X at comprehending a question - solving it correctly- finding the
correct answer? (Temporal)
4.05
Good
M9
How does student X use sequential processing function while solving a problem?
(Temporal)
4.02
Good
M10
How well does student X use mathematics in other lessons? (Reasoning)
4.06
Good
M11
How successful is student X at directly solving problems? (Temporal)
4.07
Good
M. Tezer et. al
1496 © 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498
music lessons and reading musical notes while playing a musical instrument are
“good”.
CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Despite the current study being limited to the views of teachers and students, this
study only examined the views of teachers. According to Cerit (2008), the views of
teachers are important as teachers are one of the most important components of
education. Cerit (2008) also added that teachers play an efficient role carrying out
effective activities for education. Therefore, in the direction of teachers’ views have
been analysed and from the findings it is clear that children who play musical
instruments are affected positively in terms of their spatial-temporal reasoning. The
findings of our study support the findings of Hetland (2000b) and Shaw (2000). In
addition, it is in accordance with the results claiming that if a music performance of
a student is good, his/her mathematics performance is also good. Furthermore,
those children who play instruments can use numbers effectively in mathematics
lessons and have a “very good” memory.
It is well known that parents have a crucial function in a child’s education. In the
light of the findings, 35% of the children were directed towards musical education
(playing a musical instrument) with family encouragement (Figure 1) and 93% of
the children loved the musical instrument they play and, apparently, this indicates
that parents are an important factor in directing a child and also this has an
important place in education. A significant weak correlation was found between the
musical instrument playing skills of students and spatial-temporal reasoning states
towards mathematics for students who play an instrument. The correlation between
musical ability and mathematical ability could add new dimensions in education.
Many research papers carried out regarding mathematics all over the world have
shown that mathematics education is not sufficient and there is a need for new
approaches.
The findings showed that the majority of the students chose their musical
instrument with family encouragement and this is followed by a voluntary choice of
students. But, Bora (2002) claimed that students’ voluntarily choice of musical
instruments increase their performance in music and thus, this could support their
performance in maths in a positive way.
Music could be used as a very effective means of education, in particular, with
preschool children. The horizons of children could improve dramatically if the basics
of mathematics and music education are provided “correctly” in this period. Both
listening to music and playing musical instruments provides a positive impact on the
cognitive activities of people, not only in the preschool period, but also in
subsequent periods and it is worth saying that this has been a subject of much
research and should not be underestimated.
Table 7. The item means of the scale of MIPS
Mean
Rate
M12
To what extent does X student play a musical instrument from ear?
3.66
Good
M13
To what extent X student is good at harmonising the rhythm while counting
correctly?
3.91
Good
M14
How well does X student classify similar rhythm structures while reading musical
notes?
3.81
Good
M15
How good is X student at recognizing a melody he/she has heard?
3.83
Good
M16
To what extent does X student read a musical note by reasoning?
3.83
Good
M17
How is X student’s visual intelligence in a music lesson?
4.06
Good
M18
How good is X student’s memory in a music lesson?
4.02
Good
M19
To what extent does X student read notes while playing a musical instrument?
3.84
Good
The spatıal-temporal reasonıng states of chıldren
© 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498 1497
Children with advanced cognitive skills are better at perceiving music and
improving it. If it is thought that these two disciplines are related in terms of ability,
it should not be forgotten that children with high musicality have much more
advanced mental capacities and the importance of spatial-temporal reasoning states.
Thus, it is necessary to make more researches about the area of spatial-temporal
reasoning.
REFERENCES
Akkaş, S. (1993). Okul öncesi eğitimde müzik. Gazi Büro ve Kitabevi Tic. Ltd. Ṣti., Ankara.
Arnold, J. & Fonseca, C. (2004). Multiple Intelligence Theory and Foreign Language Learning:
A Brain-Based Perspective. International Journal of English Studies, 4(1), 119-136.
Beer M. (1998). How do mathematics and music relate to each other?. Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia: East Coast College of English.
Bilhartz, D., Brughn, R. A. & Olson, J. E. (1999). The effective of early music training on child
cognitive development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20 (4), 615-636.
Bora, U. (2002). Bilim ve sanatın kesiştiği temel bir nokta: Matematik ve müzik ilişkisi.
Uludağ Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 15(1), 53-68.
Büyüköztürk, Ş., & Çakmak, E. K., Akgün, Ö., E., Karadeniz, Ş. ve Demirel, F.(2011). Bilimsel
araştırma yöntemleri. Ankara: Pegem Akademi Yayınları.
Cerit, Y. (2008). Öğretmen Kavramı ile İlgili Metaforlara İlişkin Öğrenci, Öğretmen ve
Yöneticilerin Görüşleri. Türk Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 6(4), 693-712.
Crncec, R., Wilson, S. J. & Prior, M. (2006). The cognitive and academic benefits of music to
children. Facts and fiction. An International Journal of Experimental Educational
Psychology, 26 (4), 579-594.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Quantitative Methods in Psychology, 112, 155–159.
Davidson, J., & Scutt, S. (1999). Instrumental learning with exams in mind: A case study
investigating teacher, student and parent interactions before, during and after a music
examination. British Journal of Music Education, 16:1, 79-95.
Dikici, A. (2002). Orff tekniği ile verilen müzik eğitiminin matematik yeteneğine etkisinin
incelenmesi. Ankara Üniversitesi, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Eğitim Bilimleri Anabilim
Dalı, Eğitim Programları ve Öğretimi Bilim Dalı. Yayınlanmış Doktora Tezi, Ankara.
Fraenkel, J. R., & Wallen, N. E. (2006). How to design and evaluate research in education. Mc
Grawall Hill.
Hallam, S. (1998). Instrumental teaching: A practical guide to better teaching and learning.
Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers.
Hallam, S. (2000). The effects of listening to music on children’s spatial task performance.
British Psychological Society Education Review, 25 (2), 22–26.
Hallam, S. (2002). Musical motivation: Towards a model synthesising the research. Music
Education Research, 4 (2), 225-244.
Hallam, S. (2010). The power of music: its impact on the intellectual, social and personal
development of children and young people. International Journal of Music Education, 28
(3), 269-289.
Harvey, J. (1994). These music exams. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
Hetland, L. (2000a). Learning to make music enhances spatial reasoning. Journal of Aesthetic
Education, 34, 179–238.
Hetland, L. (2000b). Listening to music enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: Evidence for
the “Mozart effect”. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34, 105–148.
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1991). ‘Jazz improvisation: a theory at the computational level’. In P.
Howell, R. West and I. Cross (eds) Representing Musical Structure. London: Academic
Press (pp. 291-325).
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2002). ‘How jazz musicians improvise’. Music perception, 19 (pp. 415-
442).
Karşal, E. (2005). http://www.muzikbilim.com/4e_2005/karsal_e.html. Retrieval date: June,
2015.
Kliewer, G. (1999). The Mozart Effect. New Scientist, 164(2211), 34-7.
Kline, P. (2014). An easy guide to factor analysis. Routledge.
Lazdauskas, H. (1996). Music makes the school go round. Young Children, 51 (5), 22-23.
M. Tezer et. al
1498 © 2016 by the author/s, Eurasia J. Math. Sci. & Tech. Ed., 12(6), 1487-1498
Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı (2014). İlköğretim müzik dersi, müzik eğitimi öğretmen el
kitabi,North Cyprus (Nicosia).
http://talimterbiye.mebnet.net/Ogretim%20Programlari/ ilkokul/ana.html. Retrieval
date: January, 2015.
Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı (2014). İlköğretim Matematik (1., 2., 3., 4. Ve 5. Sınıflar) Dersi Öğretim
Programı, North Cyprus (Nicosia). http://talimterbiye.mebnet.net/
Ogretim%20Programlari/ ogretim-ana.html. Retrieval date: June, 2015.
Marsh, A. (1999). Can you hum your way to math genius. Forbes, 163(8), 176-178.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000). Principles and Standarts for School
Mathematics, Reston, VA: NCTM.
Önal, Ö. (2012). Ses, dil ve müzik. Dil Dergisi, 155, 7-23.
Önür, H. (2013). Gelir düzeyinin eğitim imkanlarından yararlanma düzeyine etkisi. Süleymen
Demirel Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Eğitim Dergisi, 18 (2), 259-277.
Öziskender, G., Güdek, B. (2013). Orff yaklaşımı ile yapılan okul öncesi müzik eğitiminin
öğrencilerin sosyal becerilerinin gelişimine etkileri. Turkish Studies- International
Periodical for the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic, 8 (3), 213-232.
Rauscher, F., Shaw, G. Levine, L. Wright, E. Dennis, W., ve Newcomb, R. (1997). Music training
causes long-term enhancement of preschool children’s spatial-temporal reasining.
Neurological Research, 19 (1), 2-8.
Shaw, G. L. (2000). Keeping Mozart in mind. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Talu, N. (1999). Çoklu Zeka Kuramı ve Eğitime Yansımaları. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim
Fakültesi Dergisi, 15, 164-172.
Taylor, C. (1982). These music exams a guide to ABRSM exams for candidates, teachers and
parents. United Kingdom: The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
Tekin, A. T. (2007). 9. ve 11. Sınıf öğrencilerinin zihinde döndürme ve uzamsal görselleştirme
yeteneklerinin karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmesi. Ankara Üniversitesi, Eğitim Bilimleri
Enstitüsü, Eğitim Bilimleri Anabilim Dalı, Eğitim Programları ve Öğretimi Bilim Dalı.
Yayınlanmış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Ankara.
