Geometry Studio
The Long Beach Project in Geometry and
Symmetry will
establish both an intellectual and a physical space—a studio/lab—for
mathematical pursuits. The
geometry studio will
be a place where students and faculty can gather to construct,
discover, and
explore models and structures connected to mathematical ideas and
results. A
fundamental objective is to encourage students to develop experimental,
perceptual
and geometric
modes of thinking.
The interactions that take place in the studio will promote
- an intellectual setting
in which students develop independence in thought, inquiry, and
problem-solving as well as an appreciation of the intrinsic depth and
beauty of mathematics
- a social environment that
encourages students to engage cooperatively in the construction and
exploration of perceptual structures
- a model and materials for
the development of similar facilities at other institutions.
In
its initial stage, the project’s core will consist of a
newly-proposed interdisciplinary undergraduate course, Reflections
in Space
and Time: Experiments in Symmetry and Imagination. Other
courses will also run in the studio--e.g., College Geometry. The studio will also host a
summer workshop for professional
development of schoolteachers.
Perceptual thinking
An
important element of mathematics is what you write down--definitions,
theorems,
proofs. However, there are ways of thinking that stem from intuition
and
visualization or, more generally, imagination
and perception. Mathematics is
something that we can see and feel as well as something that we read
and write.
Accordingly, the long-term goals of the Long Beach Project in Geometry
and
Symmetry are:
- To
establish an intellectual culture in which students at elementary and
advanced
levels can experience mathematics as an experimental, constructive, and
perceptual activity.
- To
offer
a natural setting for multi-disciplinary study organized within the
unifying
framework provided by geometry and symmetry.
- To
provide a setting in which in-service and pre-service K-12 teachers can
explore
experimental, constructive, and perceptual approaches to mathematics
and to
mathematics teaching.
- To
foster undergraduate and graduate student research activity that
involves
experimentation, construction, and visualization.
- To
present a model and develop materials that others can examine and adapt
to their own ends and insitutions.