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Showing posts from December, 2023

"MAART" -- Combining Math and Art for Mathematical Fluency and Comprehension

Music's connection with math is apparent: beat, tempo, chord progressions, time signatures, all involve mathematical elements. Furthermore, music and math are both universal languages that break barriers among and between cultures. But what of math and art? If these two spheres are related, can that relationship be leveraged to further comprehension and deepen thinking in students?  Art is about shape and line, contour, and shading. It turns out, that this is exactly what algebraic functions and equations can produce: works of art. Using the Desmos graphing calculator our boys are able to produce artworks that not only act as a check to their mathematical knowledge,  but also result in deeper understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.  In seventh and eighth grade algebra classes at Saint David's, boys learn how to graph straight lines (linear equations) and parabolas (quadratic equations). Boys input their formulas and the program draws the resultant straight or curved