Explain this
Interdisciplinary Educational Research in Mathematics and Its Connections to the Arts and Sciences
How the publisher describes it:
“The book is based on the recently held Symposium on mathematics and its connections to the arts and sciences, namely the second Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and Sciences (MACAS2)Symposium in Odense, Denmark (May 29-31, 2007). The chapters are an eclectic collection of interdisciplinary research initiatives undertaken by mathematics educators with implications for practitioners concerned with teaching and learning processes.”
Review by Matthew Reames
In brief:
This book explores the many and diverse ways that seemingly abstract mathematical concepts can be applied in concrete ways in art, science and culture.
“Answers to the question, 'When will we ever use this?'”
A collection of varied research papers that aim to connect mathematics to a wider interdisciplinary context.
The focus of Multidisciplinary Education Research in Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and Sciences is on the building of bridges between disciplines with the aim of reflecting on shared commonalities and constructive differences.
The Second International Symposium on Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and Sciences was held in Denmark in 2007. This book is a compilation of the papers presented at that conference. Rather than fitting a narrowly defined set of characteristics, the topics of the papers in this collection are as widely diverse as the countries of origin of their authors.
Several papers focus on the use of modelling techniques and how these mathematical techniques can be applied in a number of situations, from a primary school natural science investigation to secondary school penalty throw problem. Other papers apply statistical techniques to a study of baseball greats.
Several interesting papers explore the role of mathematics from a cultural point of view. There is an exploration of baskets made by members of the Tlingit tribe in Alaska and how the mathematics used is not reflective of majority American/European culture, but is nonetheless an essential cultural tool. Another paper is a look at the ethnomathematics of Australian Aboriginal maps and paintings. In a third, a Danish author looks at 17th century Dutch perspective boxes from a mathematical point of view.
Though not exactly a book to choose if you are looking for some light reading, certain readers will find at least some of the topics quite engaging. It definitely helps to provide new answers to the question, ‘When will we ever use this?’ For a start, try the paper titled ‘The Arithmetic Mean and the Car Differential.’
Matthew Reames • Former Head of Mathematics, St Edmund's Junior School, Canterbury, now PhD student in mathematics education at the University of Virginia
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Information Age Publishing (25 July 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1593119836
ISBN-13: 978-1593119836
Product Dimensions: 24.9 x 17.8 x 2 cm
