Teaching Math Through the Digital Collections of Fine Arts Museums Natasha Rozhkovskaya, Department of Mathematics Kansas State University Kansas City Mathematics Technology EXPO October 7, 2017
Plan of the presentation What are we doing. Why to use online catalogues of the museums. What math topics could be discussed at such lessons. Resources.
Where we used it We used resources of fine arts museums at the following activities offered by Math department: - Math Circle Seminar at Kansas State University (grades 1-7). - Classes for undergraduate students (specifically, for future elementary school teachers)
Math Circle Seminar at KSU Organized by faculty members of the Department of Mathematics at Kansas State University.
Math Circle Seminar at KSU Three levels operate in 2017-2018: Grades 1-4, grades 5-7, and grades 8-10.
Math Circle Seminar at KSU Students participate in AMC 8-12, USA Math Kangaroo competition, Manhattan Math Olympiad. Practice sessions for math tests and competitions are offered.
Math Circle Seminar at KSU Guest speakers lectures. Games and puzzles days.
Math Circle Seminar at KSU. A long tradition: Math and Art workshop at the local museum. Offered twice a year. Math and Art workshops are co-organized with Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. Runs for one hour in the museum.
Typical program of a Math and Art Workshop Slide lecture that explains mathematical topic.
Typical program of a Math and Art Workshop Lecture in the gallery: discussion of the artwork, its mathematical component, artist biography, etc.
Typical program of a Math and Art Workshop Problem solving or art project.
Workshop for undergraduate students Before the class: handouts are distributed. In the museum: short introduction into mathematical topics. Discussion is based on 3-4 objects in the gallery. Students work in the gallery. Students complete the assignment at home and submit for grading.
Benefits of using online catalogue for a workshop in a gallery Convenience of preparation of the materials from home. Homework assignment can be based on the usage of the catalogue: just provide the links to the artworks. Many works are not on display in the gallery. The catalogue allows to compare different artworks that are not on display.
Benefits of using online catalogues of distant museums for slide presentations Reliable and accurate information
Benefits of using online catalogues of distant museums for slide presentations Searchable database Free access to the quality art from school/home
Benefits of using online catalogues of distant museums for slide presentations Linking directly to the museum (the owner of the artwork) allows to avoid potential copyright problems
COPYRIGHT ISSUES There is always a question, if one can use an image of an artwork for his/her professional activities. The rules are complicated and one never should assume that he/she has a full right to use an artwork. The artwork can be protected by the rights of: - the museum that owns the artwork -the photographer who took the picture - the artist/his family or representatives (in some cases that can be Artists Rights Society, VAGA).
Fair Use for the Visual Arts For analytic writing, teaching about art, making art, museum uses, online presentations at www.collegeart.org
Limitations in Teaching: The works selected should further the teacher s substantive pedagogical objectives. The teacher s pedagogical objective should predominate over that of merely representing the work or works used. Student access to course management sites where such works are made available should be restricted to those enrolled in the course or otherwise designated by the teacher.
Limitations in Teaching: Images made available to students should, to the extent possible, accurately represent the works they depict. If providing downloadable images online is justified by the teacher s objectives, those images should be suitable in size for satisfactory full-screen projection or display on a personal computer or mobile device, but generally not larger.
Why to teach math through art? Artists use mathematics to solve some technical problems. Artists use mathematical algorithm as a method to produce a collection of objects or a pattern Artists admire properties of some mathematical notions and intentionally incorporate them into their work. Artists refer to some mathematical notion, but this time without appealing to its properties.
Examples of math topics that can be discussed through fine arts. Circles and other geometric shapes.
Examples of math topics that can be discussed through fine arts. Probability theory, games of chance, combinatorics
Examples of math topics that can be discussed through fine arts. Linear Perspective
Examples of math topics that can be discussed through fine arts. Symmetry Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art Alan Shields (1944-2005) Kansas Meatball, 1985-1998 Object number: 2007.111
Resources Where to find ideas for a start? We have some at www.i70math.com
Resources From www.i70math.com
Resources M is for Math, Museum, and Manhattan, Kansas describes our experience of teaching math through art. Contains problems of different levels, references to art objects in different museums, art projects.
Topic: Symmetry, Platonic Solids Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art Alan Shields (1944-2005) Kansas Meatball, 1985-1998 Object number: 2007.111
Topic: Symmetry, Platonic Solids Questions for the discussion session. What shapes are called Platonic solids? Name all Platonic solids. How many are there? What kind of Platonic solid is Kansas Meatball?
Topic: Symmetry, Platonic Solids Assignment questions: How many vertices, edges and faces does icosahedron have? Check that the Euler characteristics for icosahedron equals two. Find Platonic solids in the figure above. Find the shape of the Kansas Meatball.
Art Project Toothpick Platonic Solids Paper plate icosahedron
Thank you!