Experiences

“Nice student” – aplication of the topic "Golden cut, tiem work

Jana Čiripová

Slovakia

High Secondary School

Maths

Teaching in class

Direct

The aim of this lesson was to familiarize students with the curriculum concerning the application of the Golden Section in everyday life. Pupils in the class were asked whether they have ever encountered this term, which things in their neighborhood they consider to be beautiful and based on what they have chosen these particular objects. Then a busy discussion started. Students did not know the concept, did not know what to imagine, how their opinions could have been affected. They had various and sometimes funny guesses when they said what their evaluations were based on. They were presenting different answers. Then I briefly introduced them to the topic, what is meant by the term of Golden Section in mathematics and began to clarify it. As a motivation I used a short you tube video about the Divine Proportion. They were supposed to notice and record in their notebooks where around us the golden cut is visible and what lengths and proportions of human body parts fulfill the golden section constant. The students closely watched the video, did their entries in the workbooks, and after the video presented their notes and commented on them. At this lesson I liked that students were interested and were willing to freely discuss about the new knowledge that they did not previously know of and even neither of them had an idea about its existence. Later in the class in connection to the notions of sympathy and beauty in paintings concerning the proportions of the human body I have done a little research. I wanted to find out if any student meets certain proportions and ratios. We measured arm length as well as some other dimensions of their bodies. The results were interesting. Students got spontaneously engaged in the activity. Each one wrote his or her taken measurements on the board and then we have them evaluated. In class there were two pupils who met the ideal ratio - constant golden section and have been assessed as the most beautiful ones, which was fully commented on by their classmates. I think the activity level of the students was very good and I value this lesson very well. The aim of this lesson was, besides learning new curriculum information, that the students received an opportunity to express their own individuality, communicate with each other and last but not least also take a break from the usual lesson process which normally consists of counting for the most of the class time.