Geometry Meets Innovation and Creativity

Purpose & objective

The topic is relevant as it delivers a purpose about the impact of innovation, sustainability and social responsibility has on everyday life and makes it a significant change in the way students perceive math.

Conceiving a creative environment that allow students to work on real life problems with their own ideas. This project enables basic aspects of designing lesson, collaborative work, communication and creativity and real world participation.

This project allows the teacher and students to decide what the final product may be. They would rather make, instead of a city, an aquarium, zoo or park. In every option the idea is using geometric shapes and volumes to make animals, objects, etc., that can be put together in a space.

The project is divided in various activities included in a schedule with deadlines and directions for each one. First students begin putting together more than one concept or idea by being introduced to the world of architecture. They watch and discuss several TED-ED videos about innovative buildings and listen to lectures on social responsibility and sustainability designs.

Then they plan and design their building by drawing a draft and writing a description that expresses their idea, in other words, the story told by the building itself. Everyone will have to design a building based on geometric shapes: prisms, pyramids and spheres, using their knowledge on volumes. To make sure all buildings are proportional, they are given specific lengths. And they are only allowed to use recycled materials. In this activity the students can work by themselves or with a partner.

To present the project each class group will decide how to distribute the buildings in an area, conceiving as a group the model of a city. On a QR code they make their digital presentation, including the draft copy, the description and story of the construction and the process and operations needed to calculate the volume and surface area. This last one is presented as a tutorial video.

This project has been part of the Science Fair. For students it is a great opportunity to show their work in public and it is convenient that by the digital presentation (QR code) they do not have to be in person, so they can be at the same time on different stands.

Supporting research

There are plenty of information to introduce the students to the world of architecture, Ted-ed is a resourceful site that update its videos and its a helpful support for this particular project. Also the conferences included in the site are as effective as the videos.

The following books and articles were cited for the project.

Books:
-De la Torre, M. (2005). Geometría Descriptiva; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Escuela de Arquitectura, México.
-Gordon V.O. (1980). Curso de Geometría Descriptiva; Editorial Mir
-https://libros.conaliteg.gob.mx/20/S00340.htm#page/26
-https://digital.latiendadellibrero.com/pdfreader/matemticas-1-jimnez

Articles:
-http://funes.uniandes.edu.co/22379/1/Juarez2018Geometria.pdf
-http://bdigital.unal.edu.co/51458/1/30402933.2016.pdf; pp23-2528-30,31
-https://repositorio.unican.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10902/7821/ArroyoGutierrezRaquel.pdf;sequence=1

Websites:
-https://www.eadic.com/hiperboloides-en-ingeneria/
-https://www.masterclass.com/articles/creative-writing-exercises-to-strengthen-your-writing
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-MmLIdE9Gs
-https://www.expansion.com/economia-digital/innovacion/2018/09/27/5ba51516ca474152028b4582.html
https://ingemecanica.com/tutoriales/areas.html
https://www.ecured.cu/Cuerpos_geom%C3%A9tricos_(Volumen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brL1wgue-Ck