A three-year Canadian study has revealed students involved in a Learning Through The Arts (LTTA) program scored higher in mathematics than schoolchildren engaged in traditional education. The Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario) study of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s LTTA program, found participating students scored up to 11% higher in mathematics than their non-LTTA peers. The study, which compared ten to 12-year-old Canadian LTTA students with peers in other schools, also showed an increase in the percentage of teachers who say the arts are an effective way to teach mathematics, science and language. A survey of parents found 90 percent held the opinion arts motivated their children to learn, while school principles at LTTA schools were more likely to personally regard the arts as ‘very important.’ The Royal Conservatory for Music created the learning initiative in 1994 as a vehicle to enhance publication, according to a statement from the institution. The program aims to make learning more participatory, active and connected to personal interests and learning styles of individual students, based on the idea these are the most effective ways for children to achieve academic, social and personal development. LTTA brings musicians, actors, writers and painters into 170 schools across Canada and also operates in New York and Sweden. Together with teachers, artists present mathematics, language, history and social studies curricula through creating images, dances, telling stories and singing songs, according to the Conservatory. Over 6,000 students and teachers were involved in the Queen’s University study, led by Dr Rena Upitis and Dr Katherine Smithrim. MORE INFO: Visit the Learning Through The Arts website, www.ltta.ca