History of Mathematics - Yubin

    The relation between maps and mathematical idea was very interesting. From mathematical perspective, maps are visual model of 3D-spaces and geography on a paper. What was more interesting part of the Marshall Islander's charts to me is that charts model the relationship between the boat and waves and winds, instead of representing geographical location and structure of lands and sea. I was very surprised to learn that Marshall Islanders used their charts on land rather than when they were on sea voyaging. I think this was possible for them as their charts demonstrate the idea of how to determine the directions considering the interaction of the boat, wave, and winds at the moment, and Marshall Islanders had clear ideas of what their charts represented.    Embodied mathematics are great examples of demonstrating the process of mathematical thinking. As humans from ancient history did not have the same number systems or formulas as we do now, the thought proce...

For assignment 3, I will talk about Korean alphabet, Hangeul. I will do my research on the history of the invention of Hangeul, and what mathematical ideas are related with Hangeul. I chose graphic art as my art format. Here is the draft reference list: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (2006). Memory of the World. Cultural Heritage Administration.            http://english.cha.go.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?ctgryLrcls=CTGRY211&nttId=57977&bbsId=BBSMSTR_1205&mn=EN_03_03 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (2014). 우리 문화유산 속 수학의 재발견 [Rediscovery of mathematics in our cultural heritage] . Cultural Heritage Administration. https://www.cha.go.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do;jsessionid=Xvhn2aDJDxCtKjiNWjw9MdCFN9pIXwN3NyfZADGibcVC2X1RJz5JsOMSP1ms2MXl.cha-was02_servlet_engine1?nttId=17246&bbsId=BBSMSTR_1008&pageIndex=162&pageUnit=10&searchtitle=title&searchcont=&searchkey=&searchwriter=&searchdept=...

The first quote that stopped me was, "The very word "liberal" implies that these arts belonged to the education of free men, not to the technological training of slaves. " (Schrader, p. 264) After the short practicum, the biggest question in my head is that how can I implement inquiry based learning in a math classroom. This quote made me rethink of what education is and what is the purpose of education. The traditional teaching method in a math classroom is efficient, and I noticed during the short practicum that time constraints is a big obstruction when delivering a lesson to students. However, traditional teaching method is far from education of "free men".  The quote that surprised me was, "Plato[...] conceived of such education as the sole occupation of the first thirty-five years of a man's life. " (Schrader, p. 264) thirty-five years of education is almost the triple amount of school years of current K-12 education system we use. I am...

I think Edna St. Vincent Millay is really showing her appreciation of Euclid's work from her poem. From what I am understanding, Edna tried to explain Euclid and his work as something that is new and incomparable to other "Beauty". Edna's definition of "Beauty" in this poem might be the foundation of things that others did not attempt or were not interested to dissect, and how Euclid was able to explain and prove geometrical shapes in his ways.  I think that Euclidean geometry has been popular to these days because it is well structured with statements of theorems followed by proofs. My personal experience with Euclidean geometry is nothing fascinating, unfortunately. I heard Euclid's name frequently while doing my undergrad studies, but I only memorized the important theorems instead of studying the "Beauty" of his work.

    As I started studying in education program and as I learn and experience more about teaching, I keep asking myself a question, so how do I make mathematics fun and engaging for students? Through 'dancing Euclidean proofs' activity, I realized that I never associated math with dancing ever before. This made me think about how I am used to traditional math classrooms and how I was reluctant to try something that I am not familiar with in a math class. I also realized that mathematics really have no boundaries of what you can do with math or what you cannot do with math. It is more about being flexible and capable enough to change one's perspective to incorporate different ideas and methods that may not be common in a math classroom. The activity also made me think about how other areas, such as music and drama, could be incorporated in a classroom and how different mathematical topics can be taught in different ways.      I personally found the 'dancing Euclid...

I remember that as a student I always thought about how different cultures other than European or North American are not mentioned in Canadian classrooms. It certainly felt foreign for me especially who was a English Language Learner student and a new immigrant to Canada. I even thought other cultural contexts were irrelevant. Hence, I believe acknowledging non-European methods in mathematics will have huge impacts on students. Having different cultural representation in a classroom will allow students from different backgrounds to feel included and engaged. Students can also learn how learning and education can have diverse perspectives which will encourage students to explore the global context of education. Also, just learning and knowing more about different cultures can help students to familiarize themselves with other cultures and appreciate them. This will allow students to be more open-minded instead of having Eurocentric views. Acknowledging non-European methods will have hug...