Assignment 1 Reflection

 

• one paragraph on what the experience of this project was like for you -- where it was challenging, satisfying, frustrating, intriguing, etc.

I truly enjoyed this project. It showed me new perspectives on how ideas and concepts can come together and, most interestingly, be open to a diverse range of interpretations based on the perspective of the viewer. The area I struggled with most was thinking of how to extend the concept into something more. I knew I wanted to work on something related to time, but it took many attempts with different shapes and sequences to find one that would work to demonstrate a full life span down to every individual second. However, once it all came together, it was worth it and showed us how many applications this practice of using shapes and symmetry to represent ideas can have.

• one paragraph on your thoughts about what you take away from this project as a teacher. What could you (and couldn't you) use with your own classes? Any ideas for parallel projects bringing together math with other subject areas like the arts, history, science, etc. that you might consider developing and trying out in your own class?

 I believe that the idea of using shapes, rotation, symmetry, etc. to dhow how ideas can be interconnected is one that can be used in most classrooms. A very effective way of learning a new subject is to see how the different areas of study are connected. This exposure to the subject can help ignite ideas in the student's mind and presents them with a holistic view of the concepts. While I will definitely use this in Math, I feel like one area where this idea would be very effective would be in History. It can show how different eras and dynasties may share similarities, how they differed, how one led to the development of the next, and can also be broken down to smaller units of time to see how the events of a certain type within a single year are all interconnected.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this project and learned a great deal from it.