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This is a spin-off of the MESE-Q "Wonder as Motivation", where there was some concern expressed about relating to the students. It reminded me of this rap video by a stem-cell researcher on YouTube "Johnathan Garlick Stem Cell Rap", which led me to this thought-provoking video on motivating students "Songs for Biology - Students Write Hip Hop to Learn Science".

Any similar attempts to get students to write rap / hip hop for math as a way to motivate interest?

(Another example: "Biology Rap - Learning Bio - Biology Cell Song")

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Tom Copeland
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  • I've added links to the videos mentioned. Feel free to fix them if it's a different video. – Chris C Mar 16 '15 at 21:04
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    The main person of whom I aware in this area is Chris Emdin at Teachers College, who does this for STEM Education in Science, but not (yet?) Mathematics. – Benjamin Dickman Mar 16 '15 at 21:38
  • @BenjaminDickman, yes, Chris Emdin is featured in the video I cite (Songs for Biology, which is more accessible to me on a tab via YouTube rather than the PBS site). https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=0HjWIxzjcrI – Tom Copeland Mar 16 '15 at 23:35
  • Like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3tdimtxqic I shared this with my differential geometry class about a year ago, one student said he could not "unhear" it which made him sad. – James S. Cook Mar 17 '15 at 19:50
  • @JamesCook, the operative phrase is "students writing" (as a motivation to learn). Two videos I cite are not by students. The most pertinent video features Chris Emdin and students being turned on to biology by writing hip hop about it. – Tom Copeland Mar 17 '15 at 20:14
  • @Tom Copeland We learn by example I suppose, not that this is a skill which I wish to acquire. In any event, I do agree that thinking about math in some unusual format probably has some mind-expanding aspect. Generally, motivation for that age group probably needs to involve some form of "fun". I assume we are thinking about highschool kids and/or kids with at most a highschool experience in math. – James S. Cook Mar 17 '15 at 20:41
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    Motivating people often involves encouraging participation through skills and interests you may not possess and that are often related to age. It's also a way of acknowledging individuality rather than just giving it lip service. The point is to get students to relate to the subject rather than the more narcissistic goal of relating to the teacher. – Tom Copeland Mar 17 '15 at 21:00

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