PSU-LV students take to the lawn for a lesson in symmetry and perspective as p艺术 of a new interdomain course that uses 艺术 to counter negative perceptions of mathematics.
宾州中央谷. -致大多数人, 艺术 and math seem like two ends of the spectrum: the left brain firmly in practical applications, the right 等hed in endless creativity.
或者他们是?
Two Penn State 利哈伊谷 professors came together this summer to connect these seemingly divergent disciplines, using the intersection to illustrate that 艺术 and math have more in common than what’s typically perceived.
Offered for the first time this fall, 艺术 of Mathematics is the creation of Larry Musolino, assistant teaching professor of mathematics, 和安·拉里克, 美术馆馆长, 艺术协调员, 艺术讲师. Musolino hatched the concept to counter negative perceptions of mathematics and ease the angst he’d sometimes see in his students.
“Math is a language that can explain the world around us, so I wanted to develop a course that would use things like nature, 艺术, 跳舞, 体系结构, 音乐, 等. to emphasize the relevance and applications of mathematics,” Musolino said.
When Penn State 利哈伊谷 put out a call for new interdomain courses, he approached Lalik to help bring their worlds together — in an uncomplicated way.
整个夏天, we developed the 艺术 of Mathematics to help students think about the two subjects as one. We made a point to integrate hands-on projects that make use of the resources readily available in our 艺术 Studio on campus,穆索利诺说.
Before long, the course had a waiting list.
“I love co-teaching and the pitching back and forth,” said Lalik. “Larry had ideas about 体系结构 and other math concepts when he st艺术ed the process but was open to my ideas — like using metalworking and a crochet project to create a hyperbolic plane. He was always supportive.”
对于第一单元, the group took sk等h pads out on the campus lawn and used math concepts to create drawings of the newly expanded 利哈伊谷 campus. “It was a lesson on symmetry and perspective,穆索利诺说. 它看起来棒极了!”
Student 艺术work from Penn State 利哈伊谷's course, "艺术 of Mathematics."
The course also includes topics like tiling and tessellations, 斐波那契数列, the golden ratio (a geometric shape that frequently shows up in nature and is often used by 艺术ists and architects), 和分形. Students will experiment with different 艺术 forms, including crocheting and metalsmithing. Musolino said they are also hoping to visit a few 艺术 museums (perhaps virtually) and ask students to discuss the mathematical concepts they observe in the 艺术work.
Lalik said the course has been rewarding for both the students and instructors. “It’s really interesting to see things from two perspectives. This course allows our students to experience the rich elements of the of 艺术 — while looking at math, 希望, 透过新的视角.”
