Teacher puts musical twist on learning maths tables
A Sunshine Coast teacher who’s concerned that young students today are not adequately learning their basic times tables, has produced a CD of songs to help make these maths fundamentals fun.
Sean Taylor, who teaches at Bribie Island High School, has produced 11 songs in a variety of styles from rock to funk and dance, with each song devoted to a specific times table.
“The Times table CD is aimed at primary school students and is designed to put a new twist on the tried-and-true method of learning times tables through repetition,” Mr Taylor said.
“Repeating the various times tables out loud is something that is no longer commonly done in schools; but this CD utilises that learning method and adds catchy sing-a-long tunes.”
“It is designed to make the maths fundamentals fun.
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The lyrics of each song are simple: they are the times tables repeated.
Mr Taylor imagines that teachers could play one song a day at the start of each maths lesson, which will involve students in repetitive learning but also get them excited about mathematics. Being a parent of primary aged children himself Mr Taylor mentioned that this method would also help students learn their times tables at home, via a CD or Mp3 player - a homework godsend!
“Learning the basic times tables can be daunting for many young students, but singing along to a catchy tune helps to takes away some of the apprehension and makes learning fun,” Mr Taylor said.
Mr Taylor comes from a family of teachers.
