Optical ornaments in the teaching of mathematics


Anđelka Simić




For many students, mathematics is difficult, but our task as their teachersis to make students understand that mathematics means more than just numbers and that it is omnipresent: in nature, in art, in music, etc. Teachers are supposed to achieve that goal by using old and new methods of teaching.There is a series of advantages of group work in the teaching of mathematics, despite the plan being educational or moral.Taking into account all aspects, it dawned upon me that I might use optical ornaments in combination of mathematics and art lessons. The main aim was to lead students to learn what group work is and to use that knowledge in the process of teaching mathematics.Another aim was to make students realize that doing math is like doing a Jigsaw puzzle – by using simple elements, you can make complex structures, while doing some mathematics exercise means combining some concrete basic knowledge for a particular field.