Shannan Downey & Courtney Fox

03/12/2024

EDCP 553 Final Project

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Embodied Math & Art

A Project in Scale

AGENDA

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INTRODUCTION

CONNECTION TO ACADEMIC LITERATURE

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE FINAL PROJECT

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CONCLUSION

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REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

Overview, Positionality & Curriculum Connections

OVERVIEW

Students in grade 8 will work through a mini unit surrounding scale, surface area & volume, drawing nets of 3D objects through embodied mathematics and art.

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Students will find a real life object that they will either enlarge (scale up) or shrink (scale down). Once they have scaled their project on paper or digitally, they will then recreate the object utilizing a medium of their choice (clay, paper, cardboard etc.) and they will then need to find the surface area and volume of their new object. Finally, they will write an artist statement to accompany their piece in a gallery walk.

POSITIONALITY

Our criteria for designing our project was:

• Does the activity involve being outdoors?
• Is it adaptable enough that we can both use it, given our geographic locations?
• Does it allow for student choice?
• Is there an element of creativity?
• Is the skill applicable and practical?

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Shannan works with a group of diverse grade 8 students at a middle school in Greater Victoria in a fairly privileged neighbourhood. She works with students who find math boring, and families who would like worksheets and homework.

Courtney works with grade 7/8 indigenous math students who come to class with varying abilities, backgrounds and experiences.

CURRICULUM LINKS

BC Curriculum

Math 8

Curricular Competency:

• Reasoning and Analyzing
• Use tools or technology to explore and create patterns, relationships, and test conjectures
• Model mathematics in contextualized experiences

Content:

• Numerical proportional reasoning
• Construction, views, and nets of 3D objects
• Surface area and volume of different shapes

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Alberta Curriculum

Math 9 (Shape and Space: Transformations)

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General Outcome:

• Describe and analyze position and motion of objects and shapes.

Specific Outcome:

• Draw and interpret scale diagrams of 2D shapes

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Alberta Curriculum

Math 8 (Shape and Space: 3-D object and 2-D Shapes)

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General Outcome:

• Describe the characteristics of 3-D objects and 2-D shapes, and analyze the relationships among them.

Specific Outcome:

• Draw and interpret top, front and side views of 3-D objects composed of right rectangular prisms

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CONNECTION TO

ACADEMIC LITERATURE

CREATIVE BODY-BASED LEARNING (CBL)

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“...using a CBL model increased student engagement and improved attitudes towards mathematics.” (Garrett et al., 2018)

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• Improved academic performance: Art integration in math is positively correlated with academic achievement and higher engagements compared to traditional instruction. (Garrett et al., 2018)

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• Cultural shift: Shifting away from traditional teaching methods by emphasizing a more creative style of teaching math creates a more engaging and enjoyable learning experience. (Dietiker, 2015)

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• Mindset shift: CBL increases student engagement and has been shown to build more positive attitudes toward math. (Garrett et al., 2018)

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• Deeper understanding: Aesthetic experiences in mathematics involve sensing value and truth, contributing to a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. (Dietiker, 2015)

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Creative Body-based Learning (CBL)

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EMBODIED LEARNING

“...combining movement-based learning with mathematics … demonstrates a positive impact.” (Riley et al., 2016)

• Enhanced comprehension: Physical movements reinforce cognitive connections, leading to deeper comprehension. achievement and student engagement. (Li, 2023)

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• Increased retention: Combining movement and cognition enhances memory recall. (Li, 2023)

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• Improved problem-solving skills: By incorporating physical movements into problem-solving activities, students develop creative problem-solving skills. (Ma & Kelton, 2018)

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• Increased collaboration: Whole-body engagement often involves collaborative activities, promoting social interaction among students. This collaborative aspect not only enhances mathematical learning but also develops teamwork and communication skills. (Ma & Kelton, 2018)

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• Mindset shift: Students often find embodied math activities enjoyable and less intimidating, leading to a positive emotional connection with the subject. (Ma & Kelton, 2018)

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EMBODIED LEARNING

A CLOSER LOOK

IN DEPTH LOOK AT THE ASSIGNMENT

Teacher Guide

Lesson One: Introducing Scale

Introductory Lesson:

• Discuss what scale is
• Where do we see scale being used
• Scale Factor, Finding Scale
• Short activity on drawing scale.

Lesson 1 slides

Lesson Two: Embodied and Outdoor Math

Embodied and Outdoors Lesson:

• Calibrate your body
• Go outdoors and measure an object using your body measurements and record/draw on blank paper and/or utilize body measurements to map out a room or the school yard
• Extension: Use 3D technology to create a scale of a drawing

Tinkercad

Floor plan creator

Lesson Three: Drawing Nets

Nets Lesson

• What is a net, when and why do we use them?
• Draw basic nets (cube, prisms, etc.)
• Create 3D shapes using Origami or paper folding

Literary Connection:

Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone

Paper Folding Resources

• MathGeek
• MathSalamander
• FileFolderFun

Final Project: A Project in Scale

Your task is to find a real life object that you will either enlarge (scale up) or shrink (scale down). Once you have created your project utilizing a media of your choice (clay, paper, cardboard etc.) you will then need to find the surface area and volume of your new object. Finally, you will need to write an artist statement to accompany your piece in a gallery walk.

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Steps:

1. Choose an object/art piece and have it approved by your teacher.
2. Determine if you will enlarge or shrink your object/art piece.
3. Measure or find measurements of your object.
1. Make sure to write you measurements on your drawing
2. Determine what scale factor you will use.
3. Scale your object.
4. Draw a 2D Scale drawing of your object (use graph paper) from one point of view.
• Ensure your drawing is colored!
5. Calculate what the area and volume of your original object is.
6. Begin building your object - make sure you are building to scale!!
7. Calculate what your new area and volume is.
8. Write an artist statement for your object.

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Student workbook

CONCLUSION

THE UNIT

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Possible Extensions

• Students can design their object using Tinkercad and use a 3D printer to print a model of their object.
• Students could organize an exhibition of their work and invite other classes to view the gallery.
• Students could participate in an “engineering design challenge” where they must design and build bridges, but their prototype must maintain its structural integrity while being scaled up or down. They would have to think about their choice of materials and how they might change after being scaled (ex. consider when to use cardboard, foamboard, or 3D printing)

Intention of the unit

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• To have students experience math and explore the practical, physical, and artistic applications of mathematics in order to increase their interest, motivation, and participation.

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Please note that these extensions are just the beginning of some ideas. They are not planned out projects and would require more instruction.

Big idea of the unit

• Explore cross-curricular connections between mathematics and art
• Explore creativity
• Develop problem-solving skills

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COURSE CONNECTIONS

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Week 1: Mathematics and the body.

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Lesson 2: Students will calibrate their bodies using the tool “Calibrate your body worksheet” from week 1 of this course.

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Week 2: Multisensory math.

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Lesson 3: Students have the option to practice building 3-D objects using paper folding or origami. We have included printables to make this more accessible, or students could challenge themselves to use their understanding of nets to create and fold their own 3-D shape.

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Week 3: Math outdoors.

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Lesson 2: Students will choose an outdoor object (tree, bench, school…etc) and measure their object using their body measurements.

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Week 4: Mathematics and arts integration.

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Lesson 1: Students will practice drawing objects using a grid and then complete a scaled drawing of their choice as their assignment.

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Lesson 2: Students will draw a scaled version of their chosen outdoors object.

Students can choose to challenge themselves and create a 3-D model of their object using technology.

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Lesson 3: Students will learn how to draw nets.

Students will use their knowledge (or a template) to create and build 3-D shapes using paper folding/origami.

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Final Project: Students will find a real life object, scale it up or down, and then re-create it using a medium of their choice.

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OUR TAKEAWAYS

ARTS & MATH

Why:

Integrating art and math has been shown to increase student engagement and academic success.

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What:

We wanted our students to find enjoyment in mathematics.

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How:

Our project uses art to connect to mathematics first by having students draw objects and adjust their size using scale, and finishing with them creating a replica of their object using various media.

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INTEGRATION OF ARTS AND EMBODIED MATH & OUR PROJECT

• Various layers to our activity will allow for students to find an aspect they can connect to throughout the project
• Allows for our students to step out of their comfort zones
• Encourages students to be play an active role in their learning

EMBODIED MATH

Why:

Embodied math has been shown to increase understanding and retention of concepts.

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What:

We wanted our students to deepen their understanding of the concepts and we wanted to appeal to students with different learning preferences.

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How:

Our project uses embodied math throughout our lessons, by having students use their bodies to measure objects before drawing them out.

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REFERENCES

REFERENCES

Dackermann, T., Fischer, U., Nuerk, HC., Cress, U., & Moeller, K. (2017). Applying embodied cognition: from useful interventions and their theoretical underpinnings to practical applications. ZDM Mathematics Education 49, 545–557 (2017).

Dietiker, L. (2015). What mathematics education can learn from art: The assumptions, values, and vision of mathematics education. Journal of Education, 195 (1).

Garrett, R., Dawson, K., Meiners, J., & Wrench, A. (2018). Creative and body-based learning: Redesigning pedagogies in mathematics. Journal for Learning through the Arts, 14(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.21977/D914136982

Hickman, R., & Huckstep, P. (2003). Art and mathematics in education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 37(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.2307/3527417

Ma, J., & Kelton, M., (2018). Reconfiguring mathematical settings and activity through multi-party, whole-body collaboration. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 98 (2).

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REFERENCES

Li, S. (2023). Application of embodied learning in middle school mathematics education, Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences 22,452-459. https://doi.org/10.54097/ehss.v22i.12498

Mountain, G. (2019). The effects of art integration on math achievement of 6th grade male students. Journal of Applied and Educational Research 2 (1).

Nathan, M. J., & Taylor & Francis eBooks EBA. (2022). Foundations of embodied learning: A paradigm for education. Routledge.

Riley, N., Lubans, D., Holmes, K., Hansen, V., Gore, J., Morgan, P. (2016). Movement-based mathematics: Enjoyment and engagement without compromising learning through the EASY Minds Program. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics Science and Technology Education 13 (6).

Smith, C., & Walkington, C. (2020). Four principles for designing embodied mathematics activities.

Tran, C., Smith, B. & Buschkuehl, M. Support of mathematical thinking through embodied cognition: Non-digital and digital approaches. Cognitive Research 2, 16 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-017-0053-8

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THANK YOU!