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Here’s the result of a twenty-minute building frenzy:
What is it? A big blue castle? A very wobbly ocean? A sombrero? No! It’s a
cosine. Really and truly.
Here’s how I built it in twenty minutes:
1) I didn’t build it.
2) I had students build it.
3) And I didn’t even have my students build it.
4) I had someone else’s students build it. So I guess it isn’t a MOC. It’s
an OOC (our own creation).
Perhaps I should elaborate. Last semester, our Calculus III students learned
double integration the old-fashioned way. They each built slices out of Lego
bricks using instructions I whipped up; when they lined up their slices (with
the help of letter tiles), they ended up with the surface defined by
z=7+6cos(x^2+y^2). Isn’t that great?
After building a coarse approximation using 2x2s, my colleague Julian used it to
show how double integration works. I love this photo!
Then, like all good calculus lessons, we tried a smaller delta x by adding 1x1s
to the models. You see the result in the top photo. The class ended up with a
beautiful model they had built themselves--and knew how to build again (should
they ever need to teach double integration).
I knew I’d reached them when later that night one student hollered at me from
across the grocery store. Yeah! Math celebrity!
The story doesn’t end there. I suppose we could have tried an even smaller
delta x with Modulex, but no: I took the show on the road and made the model
bigger!
Of course, I didn’t build any of this one, either. It was the work of other
mathematicians, students, and even parents. But that’s a story for another day.
Hope everyone’s enjoying summer vacation!
-Teddy
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In lugnet.edu, Edward Welsh wrote:
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Here’s the result of a twenty-minute building frenzy: • (snip)
Of course, I didn’t build any of this one, either. It was the work of other
mathematicians, students, and even parents. But that’s a story for another
day.
Hope everyone’s enjoying summer vacation!
-Teddy
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Teddy,
This is Cool, and a great story! Any thoughts about contributing an article
about this to BrickJournal?
Scott Lyttle
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In lugnet.edu, Scott Lyttle wrote:
> Teddy,
>
> This is Cool, and a great story! Any thoughts about contributing an article
> about this to BrickJournal?
>
> Scott Lyttle
For you, Scott, anything. I've been thinking about publishing something in the
mathematical literature, but I'd love to write a more accessible article for a
general (brick-obsessed) audience.
It surprises me how little I have read about Lego bricks in the classroom.
Physics and engineering seem to have clued in, but why anyone would use
Cuisenaire rods when you can use Lego bricks instead is quite beyond me.
For now, I'm off to church camp to run a Lego Storytelling workshop. We may
post our results on Brickshelf--stay tuned.
And stay tuned also for further chapters of Lego Bricks in the Mathematics
Classroom. Y'all are gonna flip when you see what my topology students built.
Until then,
-Teddy
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In lugnet.edu, Edward Welsh wrote:
| |
Here’s the result of a twenty-minute building frenzy:
What is it? A big blue castle? A very wobbly ocean? A sombrero? No! It’s
a cosine. Really and truly.
|
Awesome Ted!
(Hey, sorry I’ve been so aloof, even to you my closest AFOL neighbor. I haven’t
even thanked you yet for the bloody Christmas card!) :)
But on topic, I must admit, I personally would use those in a Pirate display.
For sure! ;)
•Hendo
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In lugnet.edu, Edward Welsh wrote:
| |
Perhaps I should elaborate. Last semester, our Calculus III students learned
double integration the old-fashioned way. They each built slices out of Lego
bricks using instructions I whipped up; when they lined up their slices (with
the help of letter tiles), they ended up with the surface defined by
z=7+6cos(x^2+y^2). Isn’t that great?
|
Geez, if my instructor used LEGO to demonstrate integration, I’m sure I wouldn’t
have struggled as much in my university math courses...
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In lugnet.edu, Edward Welsh wrote:
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Here’s the result of a twenty-minute building frenzy:
What is it? A big blue castle? A very wobbly ocean? A sombrero? No! It’s
a cosine. Really and truly.
|
snip
Great stuff Teddy! I love this math stuff, keep it coming!
Cyndi
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