Teaching Math Through Art

This course is designed for the elementary classroom, the art classroom, the math lab, and some high school classrooms. The course will examine various learning styles as they apply to processing math/art concepts. The math emphasis will be on spatial geometric applications. The art emphasis will be on the elements and principles of design as they apply to math concepts. Using hands-on experiences, participants will learn how to teach math through art using problem solving and visual creativity.

Topics and Objectives

Multiple Intelligences and Integrated Instruction

• Analyze the concept of integrated instruction.
• Synthesize current literature on integrated instruction.
• Examine how teachers can integrate instruction using Howard Gardner's eight intelligences.
• Examine how the arts enhance the learning process.
• Examine successful arts centered schools.

National Math and Art Standards

• Examine the national math and art standards and identify components of each that overlap.
• Apply national standards to a particular grade level, identifying possible math/art integration areas.

Student Learning Affected by the Study of the Visual Arts

• Examine the effects of the visual arts on the brain from caveman to modern man.
• Examine Piaget's cognitive development.
• Examine Victor Lowenfeld's stages of art development.
• Examine the concept that seeing is actually creating.
• Examine the visual arts and cognition.
• Examine the visual arts as effective inclusion strategy.

Components of Integrated Math and Art Instruction

• Examine the components of well-constructed integrated math/art instruction.
• Identify the benefits of math/art-integrated instruction.
• Examine the relationship between math, art, and nature, with an emphasis on symmetry, geometry, tiling, and fractals and how this can be applied to math/art lessons.
• Determine components of math/art lessons that can be integrated with other subject areas.

Successful Math/Art Lessons

• Identify the elements and principles of design that can be applied to a math/art lesson.v
• Identify relationships between math and art skills that correlate with one another.
• Identify how concepts and skills shared between math and art can be used together.
• Identify professions that rely on strong math/art ability.
• Compare and contrast math/art activities and art lessons.
• Create effective assessment strategies for math/art lessons.
• Create effective culminating activities for math/art lessons.
• Apply a hands-on math/art lesson.

Effective Math/Art Lesson Presentations

• Create an effective math/art lesson for a particular grade level or class integrating all of the course material studied.
• Apply an effective math/art curriculum lesson by teaching it to an audience.
• Identify a math/art unit of study.
• Create a plan for a math/art unit of study.

Math/Art Unit of Study

• Identify the components of a successful and meaningful math/art unit of study.
• Create an effective math/art unit of study for a particular grade level.