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Introducing URSA’s 2023-2024 Community-Engaged Learning winner: Beatrice Turley

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity congratulates Beatrice Turley, a Secondary Education and Music undergraduate student, who received an URSA 2023-2024 Community-Engaged Learning Award for their proposal titled: Understanding Introductory Geometry Through Music, Movement, and Listening. Turley's project, mentored by Sean Dowgray, centers around the 91ÊÓƵn public school standard geometry curriculum and integrates percussion instruments into the lesson plan to strengthen students' fundamental understanding of mathematical concepts. Throughout the award period Turley will share her curriculum through workshops and presentations with music education students on campus and through hands-on playing sessions with the Fairbanks Children's Museum, the Galena City School District, and the Nunamiut School in Anaktuvuk Pass. Turley presented their URSA project: Understanding Introductory Geometry Through Music, Movement, and Listening this past Sunday, on February 4th. Turley's project centers around the 91ÊÓƵn public school standard geometry curriculum and integrates percussion instruments into a lesson plan that will strengthen students' fundamental understanding of mathematical concepts while also establishing fundamentals of musical time. During the NAFME presentation, Turley outlined the scope of their project and invited NAFME students to participate in a demonstration of their curriculum.

Faculty mentor, Sean Dowgray’s favorite quote from one of the participants who was a science major was, "This is the most musical I think I've ever been in my life..."

Don’t miss Turley’s next event later this month at the Fairbanks Children’s Museum!

Join us for a February Super Saturday - a museum experience plus learning opportunities from the UAF Music Department and UAF URSA! We'll divide a room into zones for different shapes - triangle, square, circle, and more. In each zone, kiddos can listen to and play various percussion instruments while exploring the characteristics of each shape! This event is presented by Usibelli Coal Mine.