Math Art Project (Individual Response)

    This math art project with my group was a great start for me to think about how we can relate art pieces to math concepts and mathematical thinking. With the variety of choices off of the site provided by Susan, we were able to choose an art that we personally like and want to recreate, as well as seeing if the mathematical ideas behind the work is understandable for our level. By researching various ways to recreate our artwork, we came across many unique origami tessellation designs that range from simple to complex folds. When I played around with the Spread Hex Tessellation I made, I tried to incorporate my own folds and designs, which didn't end up symmetric and looked slightly off, so I had to stick to the original spread hex design. If I had more time to learn and discover more designs, I could have been able to make one that is unique to me and our group that is not on youtube or any origami textbooks!

    In the future, I would definitely want to incorporate these art projects as part of a couple of units in the curriculum so the students can develop creative thinking within a math class. Math is not all about algebra and graphs and problem solving, but it is seen in many designs around us. Everyone's interactive activity can be building blocks to any future hands-on activity that I can do with younger grades, leading to fun brain breaks and group activities. It will be a valuable learning experience for the students to shift gears from equations on paper to visually appealing artwork, opening up pathways in math education that it's not always the marks and test scores that hold meaning in math. Similar to what our group faced, the students will also have lots of freedom when selecting their artwork, and promotes personalization of the artwork. However, we must take into consideration that any interactive activity or project should have some connection to our curriculum, and be careful with time management so that students have enough lesson days to complete the curriculum in school. When certain activity instructions are difficult (like folding a flower with origami), it can be hard to have students pay close attention to the details and could end up having students give up or dislike the topic because it is "too hard and too time consuming" for them.

    I personally had so much fun being the student and doing the activity, while also being the teacher to help lead the activity. These opportunities are valuable since we get to see what it's like to learn crafts without prior knowledge, which helps with understanding frustration and satisfaction.