EDUCATION: A study of second-graders is examining effects of music training and spatial reasoning on math ability.

Lauren Grant devised something she calls the "Brain Game" to explain the mathematical concept of symmetry. She drew geometric shapes on a piece of notebook paper and then folded the paper several times, showing how the folds divide the shapes into symmetrical and a- symmetrical patterns.

There is a funny thing about Lauren Grant, however.

She is 7.

"This is completely age-inappropriate," said Marie Grant, Lauren's mother. "And I love it."

The second-graders at two Orange County schools - Oak Grove Elementary in Aliso Viejo and Madison Elementary in Santa Ana -- are part of a 12-school national study measuring the effects of musical training and spatial reasoning on the brains of young students. Specifically, a noted UCI professor is testing his theory that musical math instruction can make students' scores rise on the Stanford 9 test.

The study was designed by Gordon Shaw, the University of California, Irvine, professor known for his research on the "Mozart Effect," which drew national attention - and some harsh critics - in 1993. Seven years ago, Shaw found that the math scores of 36 UCI students went up after they listened to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major. The current study of second-graders, however, has little to do with the Mozart Effect.

Shaw believes that by combining the study of fractions, ratios, symmetry and patterns in music and geometric shapes, students will "create neural hardware," or train their brains to understand complicated math concepts. He predicts that math-test scores will more than double and that second-graders will be computing math equations at a fourth-grade level by the end of this school year.

The study consists of a 40-minute session every school day. In two sessions, students work in a music lab learning the piano keyboard. In two others, they work on a computer program designed to strengthen their spatial reasoning - watching a square divide into cubes and counting the outcome as a way of learning fractions, for instance. In the final session each week, they work on integrating the music and math.

They also listen to the Mozart sonata 10 minutes per week.

Shaw chose schools across the economic and ethnic spectrum to test his theory. At Oak Grove Elementary, 71 percent of the students are white, and 1 percent qualify for free lunches. At Madison Elementary, 95 percent of the students are Latino, and 89 percent qualify for free lunches.

Shaw believes both schools will show marked math improvement. Math, he said, shouldn't be taught through language, but rather through sounds and shapes. Students, he said, should "see" concepts rather than remember verbal cues about mathematics.

"The revolution in math education is going to be fueled by music training," Shaw said.

Even if it works, don't look for school districts to change their teaching methods quickly.

"I believe he (Shaw) is right," said Dave Chamberlain, the Capistrano Unified School District curriculum-support specialist. "But until there is definitive research, this is just another experiment. People are wary of these new theories."

Myron Dembo, an educational psychologist at the University of Southern California, said it will be difficult for Shaw to make assumptions based on this study, even if the students score higher in math.

"Is it the music? Or the computer? Or are the kids just giving more attention to math?" Dembo said. "If he concludes it's the music, he may not have cause to conclude that. If he's trying to say that any kid who studies music will do well in math, that's not true."

Shaw's theory is particularly revolutionary considering that many school districts across the state severely cut music programs after the recession of the early 1990s.

"If this is the key to unlocking higher levels of learning, that's what we're here for," said Kevin Rafferty, Oak Grove's principal, who is using Shaw's study as the basis for his doctoral dissertation at the University of Southern California.

Rafferty divided his 10 second-grade classes (200 students) in half, creating a study group and a control group. At the end of the year, he will compare the math scores of both groups.

At Madison, Principal Marty Baker believes so earnestly in Shaw's theory that she is putting all her 240 second-graders through the music training.

"I'm not interested in studying my students," Baker said. "I'm interested in increasing their abilities. So far, they are getting it beautifully."

Baker said she was stunned recently during a meeting with a special-education student, a parent and a district official. The district official asked the student, who is participating in Shaw's music study, what he learned in school that day. The dotted half note, the student replied. Then the student explained that the dotted half note has the mathematical value of 3.

"She (the district official) was blown away," Baker said.

The anecdotal evidence of improvement is compelling.

Kathleen Bargemann, whose son, Keith, participates in the Oak Grove study, said in the past he was so anxious about his math homework he was driven to tears. Now, he asks to do his math homework.

One night, Bargemann said, her family heard music playing from another room and found that Keith, who had never played an instrument, had composed his own song on the piano. He wasn't merely banging keys; he had actually made up a musical sequence that had a good beat.

"We're all amazed," Bargemann said.

"It'll be interesting to see what he does on the Stanford 9 test in the spring."

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