Bringing Yoga into Math Classrooms
EDCP 553: Teaching & Learning Embodied Math Outdoors & via the arts
Presented by : Kanwaljit Gill
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge that I am located on the shared, traditional and unceded territory of the Katzie First Nation & Kwantlen First Nation.
I acknowledge all of our First Nations, Métis, and Inuit community members in our cohort.
As well, I want to welcome and recognize the many different cultures that are represented in our cohort.
Personal Connection
Yoga has been part of my life since childhood. My mother introduced me to yoga, and I started practising yoga in my early teenage years.
Personal Connection
I am a trained Yoga instructor as I got my 200 hours yoga yoga teacher certification from Rishikesh, India in 2018.
Yoga
-Yoga is an ancient practice that has evolved over time.
-In ancient times, Yoga was more about mental and spiritual balance.
-In modern times, Yoga has involved into a form of fitness exercise with focus on physical strength.
-These days Yoga is a very popular form of exercise throughout the world.
Connection to Course Readings
Why Yoga & Math
Goldin-Meadow et al (2009). Gesturing gives children new ideas about math.
The findings suggest that body movements are involved not only in processing old ideas, but also in creating new ones.
When children produce potentially meaningful movements in the right context, these movements may begin to take on meaning and, in this way, facilitate learning.
One possibility is that the act of producing particular movements helps children focus on the information displayed in these movements.
Grounded and embodied learning experiences are powerful ways to foster mathematical reasoning across a broad range of topics and developmental levels. (p.151)
(Example) - Smith, King, and Hoyte (2014) helped third- and fourth-grade students learn angular measure by guiding them to form various angles with their arms.
Kelton, M. L., & Ma, J. Y. (2018). Reconfiguring mathematical settings and activity through multi-party, whole-body collaboration. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 98(2), 177-196.
-This article by Kelton & Ma describes the two case studies which involve using movement and whole body collaborations to engage learners in mathematics. The findings from the study highlight how the whole body collaboration can transform mathematical learning both outside and inside the classroom.
-The effects of embodiment in math education included social interactions and mathematical actions that help develop and strengthen the nature of mathematical thinking and learning.
Math Examples in Yoga
Cox, D. G. (2018). Yoga's flexibility in math. Strategies (Reston, Va.), 31(4), 45-49. https://doi.org/10.1080/08924562.2018.1467184
Cox, D. G. (2018). Yoga's flexibility in math.
Dannon Cox (2018) highlights the importance of integrating physical education in Math classes to help support the development of holistic programming in our education system..
“Basic math skills can be illustrated in two-dimensional drawings of yoga poses, from which students can visualize proper poses and perform the pose in either a gym or a classroom”
Half Moon Pose
(Cox, 2018)
Warrior I Pose
(Cox, 2018)
Warrior II pose
Warrior II pose
(Cox, 2018)
Plank Pose
Plank Pose
(Cox, 2018)
Triangle Pose
(Cox, 2018)
Activity Overview
Bringing Yoga into Math Classrooms
(Cox, 2018)
Activity Connection to the Curriculum
Grade Level 4-6
Subject Areas - Cross -curricular (Math, Physical Education, Science)
Math 6 Learning Standards
Physical Education 6 Learning Standards
Science 6 Learning Standards
Students will be led through a series of yoga exercises - sun salutations and other asanas. For each asan students will be guided through the alignment and correct angle formed by their body in relation to other parts. The teacher will also talk about joint and muscular actions involved in each yoga posture.
2. Activity Design
Students will be shown images of various yoga poses on the screen and asked to draw a 30 second sketch of each pose on their paper.
3. Activity Design
For each of their sketches students will label and identify angles formed by various body joints and describe those angles using acute, obtuse, right, straight, complementary and supplementary angles.
Students will also identify the muscles and joints involved in each pose. They can look up online or refer to their previous notes from science class for identifying the joints.
Conclusion
-The main goal is to encourage the study of mathematics beyond the traditional paper and pencil activities.
-This activity provides alternate perspective to learning math by incorporating the elements of movement, physical exercise and whole body collaboration.
- Adds an element of interest, fun to learning and caters to different learning styles and abilities of all children.
-Great example of exploring cross-curricular connections.
Future
Thank you
References
Bhambhani,A. (2022). Yoga asans with correct mathematical movement for optimal health benefits. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 9(2), 814-841.
Chezhiyan, P., & P, D. (2019). Joint-angle-based yoga posture recognition for prevention of falls among older people. Data Technologies and Applications, 53(4), 528-545. https://doi.org/10.1108/DTA-03-2019-0041
Cox, D. G. (2018). Yoga's flexibility in math. Strategies (Reston, Va.), 31(4), 45-49. https://doi.org/10.1080/08924562.2018.1467184
Goldin-Meadow, S., Cook, S. W., & Mitchell, Z. A. (2009). Gesturing gives children new ideas about math. Psychological Science, 20(3), 267-272. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02297.x
Kelton, M. L., & Ma, J. Y. (2018). Reconfiguring mathematical settings and activity through multi-party, whole-body collaboration. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 98(2), 177-196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-018-9805-8
Nathan, M. J., & Taylor & Francis eBooks EBA. (2022). Foundations of embodied learning: A paradigm for education. Routledge.
Omkar, S. N., Mour, M., & Das, D. (2011). A mathematical model of effects on specific joints during practice of the sun salutation – A sequence of yoga postures. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 15(2), 201-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2009.07.008
Subedi, K., Panthi, D., Jha, K., & Bhatta, C. R. (2021). role and importance of sthira bindu (fixed point) in yoga philosophy. International Journal of Research - Granthaalayah, 9(6), 311-329. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v9.i6.2021.4022