ReMSTEP Video on Fractals
ReMSTEP Video on Fractals
This video is intended for pre-service and in-service maths teachers to provide inspiration for classroom activities that deal with the underpinning concepts, rather than the technical and computational aspects, of mathematics.
This video is one of three produced as part of the ReMSTEP Project.
The presenter, Dr Norman Do, is a self-proclaimed mathematics geek, and a lecturer at Monash University. He loves to study and teach mathematics and aspires to engage people in study mathematics and to appreciate the diverse and varied jobs that exist for mathematicians. His main research interests lie in geometry and topology, including knot theory. (view Dr Do's profile here)
“We need to celebrate our mathematical heroes like Terry Tao, and we need to understand that if you’re a mathematician you can work behind the scenes in jobs as varied as biochemistry, animation and finance.” -- Dr Do
Before viewing the video.... instructions for teachers
View
- Where do fractals arise?
- How many other fractals are there?
- Are fractals just the play things for people with too much time on their hands OR are there real world applications of fractals?
- Would you use or have you used aspects of this topic in your maths lessons? Why? Why not?
- If you have, then where, when, why and how did you refer to this topic?
- How did your students react? Or, how do you think your students’ would react to the ideas introduced in this video?
- What are the underpinning maths questions here?
- What could a learner hope to take from watching this video?
- Does this topic have any explicit or implicit links to the curriculum?
- How and why/why wouldn’t you use this video in your maths class?
- How did these images of fractals make you feel about mathematics?
- Is there a place for this in maths education? Explain.
- What are the actual maths questions here?
- What could a learner take from this?
- Does this link to the curriculum?
- How and why would/wouldn’t you use this in your maths class?
Further resources
Links
Listed below are a number of links that could be used to further explore the topic and context of Fractals.
- http://fractalfoundation.org/resources/fractivities/ - A website containing a number of hands on activities with fractals.
- http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/ - A website of interactive ICT based activities for teaching topics in mathematics.
- http://nzmaths.co.nz/resource/fantastic-fractals - A lesson plan to support the teaching of fractals at lower to middle secondary school.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFtTdf3I6Ug - A short YouTube video about fractals and what they are used for.
- https://media.giphy.com/media/orVa44Oav5WoF1LVOE/giphy.gif - A short .GIF of endlessly zooming in on a fractal coastline
Articles
- Davis, B., & Sumara, D. J. (2000). Curriculum forms: On the assumed shapes of knowing and knowledge. Curriculum Studies, 32, 821-845.
- Gluchoff, A. (2006). Hands-on fractals and the unexpected in mathematics. NCTM: The Mathematics Teacher, 99, 570-575.
- Jarry-Shore, M. (2013). An exploration of per cents and fractions through a study of fractals. Delta-k, 50, 34-38.
- Padula, J. (2005). Fractal music: The mathematics behind ‘techno’ music. The Australian Mathematics Teacher, 47, 4-8.
- Padula, J. (2009). More about how to teach fractal geometry with music. The Australian Mathematics Teacher, 65, 37-40.
See also
The other two videos from this series: