Temari Observation

Last summer I partnered with another educator from my school to craft a multisession mini course for Math for America. The course met over a three month period and focussed on teaching educators from the Metro New York area about the symmetries of a sphere using an ancient japanese art form called Temari. I used our organization’s shared digital message board called the small world network to post and share an overview of our course in the spring course catalog and invited 15-20 teachers to sign up for the three day mini course. Each session was set for two hours The first session provided participants with basic information about the history and connections between the art we would be analyzing and science and mathematics. Participants were …show more content…
First I crafted a series of 5 model types to show 5 distinct spherical symmetries. Then I worked with a partner to make 5 sets of these models. Next I created a set of users guides with step by step instructions and provided participants with both physical and digital copies of the user guides. I also provided participants with a screencast with a set of pause points for them to follow along with while they tried to recreate one of the symmetries I provided. Finally, I prepped 20 spheres so that the poles and equators were measured, tacked and outlined with pearl cotton for the participants to create a simple set of eight symmetrical guidelines for their individual spheres. I circulated the room and demonstrated how to recreate portions of a spherical model when participants struggled with difficult patterns. I discussed new insights with participants when they noticed connections between the original symmetrical pattern and their corresponding duals. At the end of the course, participants were surveyed about the content, delivery and goals of the course. Over 90% of participants strongly agreed that they were able to create a unique symmetrical pattern on a sphere which was the goal of the