2019 Education Innovation 100│The Mystery of Numbers in Ancient Monuments! Guan Weihong takes his children out to experience mathematics
Guan Weihong, a mathematics teacher at Ruifang High School, took students from the architecture and civil engineering departments to take mathematics classes at historic sites. Through actual measurement of buildings, students could understand how mathematical formulas are applied to architectural principles. At the same time, It also allows students to understand the beauty of historical sites. An interdisciplinary mathematics class was held in a historic site.
"Teacher, what's the use of learning mathematics?" The student bit his pen, looked at the blackboard with blank eyes, and sighed at the complicated mathematical formulas. This kind of picture often appears in mathematics classes in different schools. As the students advance to higher education, the difficulty of mathematics only increases, and students lose their enthusiasm for learning mathematics.
But in the class of Guan Weihong, a mathematics teacher at Ruifang High School of Engineering, students can always find the joy of mathematics.
Holding tape measures, students from the Architecture Department measured the size of the wicker windows in the building at the famous historic site "Tianshan Xing" on Dihua Street. Guan Weihong explained the design concept and function of the wicker windows. This is not an art class, nor is it architecture, this is Guan Weihong's math class. He used the data measured by the students and supported it with mathematical formulas to help students learn the formulas of geometric figures and also helped them understand the beauty of ancient monuments. Through cross-field combination, Guan Weihong started a mathematics class full of art.
"Students will ask me, should I teach history, architecture, or mathematics? I say all of them." Guan Weihong said with a smile. He is interested in architecture and likes to study Feng Shui culture. He is an atypical mathematics teacher. Sometimes in class, when he sees that the students are bored, he will share with them the hidden principles of Feng Shui in architecture. "The students' eyes will light up because they have never heard of this." The curious eyes of the students made Guan Weihong start to think about incorporating architecture into mathematics. During the class, vocational school students can also make use of undergraduate textbooks when learning their own professional subjects.
Guan Weihong began to take students to "outdoor teaching". He asked the civil science students to bring measuring instruments to the Hakka Round Tower in Miaoli to measure the diameter of the round tower, and then calculated it using the equation of a circle to prove that the Hakka Round Tower was "round". Their figures also appeared in front of the Moon Cave Gate in the Lin Family Garden in Banqiao. After the students measured the data, they tried to use formulas to prove that the gate was outside the circle. Guan Weihong also continued to ask the students, "There is no line three on the plane." "If there are four points on the plane, how many different circles can be formed?" He used different topics to encourage students to think and make mathematics more life-like.
Civil science students went to the Lin Family Garden in Banqiao to measure the diameter of the moon cave door and combined it with mathematical formulas to learn how to prove "circle". Provided by Guan Weihong
In addition to mathematics, architecture, and surveying, Guan Weihong also takes advantage of the opportunity of outdoor teaching to teach students art classes and history classes. As a lover of Chinese culture, he hopes that architecture and civil science students can incorporate the traditional aesthetics of Chinese culture when designing buildings in the future. Walking around the Lin Antai Ancient House and admiring Taipei 101, he not only explained how to use geometric figures in architecture, but also shared the design concepts behind the architecture with the students. "I hope they can integrate Chinese culture when designing buildings in the future. Don't just talk about good-looking. Good-looking is very abstract. It must be able to explain clearly the image represented by the building."
In addition to outdoor teaching, management Weihong also lets students "practice" mathematics. Boxes after boxes of colorful building blocks are piled under the desk. Mathematics handouts and Lego models of Lin Antai’s ancient house are placed on the messy table. The lockers next to it are filled with proportional buildings of different colors. Model. Guan Weihong asked students to use building blocks to design buildings with geometric shapes, and shared design concepts, combining mathematics and art through practice.
He also uses the computer GeoGebra software to teach students to use mathematical equations and draw totems with Baroque architectural features on the computer, combining mathematics with aesthetics to cultivate students' mathematical abilities and creativity.
In class, students understand the significance of geometric figures in Chinese culture and design buildings based on them. Photo by Li Xinyun
The Future 108 curriculum emphasizes cross-field teaching and the cultivation of abilities and attitudes to face future challenges. Therefore, Guan Weihong combines courses with different fields and cultivates students' practical abilities, hoping to keep students' enthusiasm and motivation for learning. “I hope he can be confident about his major and like mathematics, and that’s enough.
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Teaching aids made by laser engraving in cooperation with the Graphics Department. This is a mini artwork reproduced to teach students to use the concept of arithmetic series. Photo by Li Xinyun
From outdoor teaching to practical implementation, Guan Weihong’s courses are rich and varied. Hong Yuqi, an architecture student, said: "I never thought I could combine the two majors. I just gave it a try and learned one more lesson." Although the improvement in math scores was not significant, Hong Yuqi smiled and said that she had worked hard and had a clear conscience.
Looking through students' works, Guan Weihong pointed to a Japanese shrine model and introduced the students' original design concept. "Students can think and do something because of courses like mine. I think this is the most enjoyable thing about being a teacher." Guan Weihong lamented that educational innovation requires a lot of enthusiasm, "I often complain If the students are not good enough, they can’t change anything. They have to think about how to change and innovate.”
His past teaching plans have been recognized by many awards. He has also gone out of school to visit other high school teachers to share his teaching plans. , looking forward to bringing some changes to education. In the next step, Guan Weihong hopes to cooperate with teachers from different subjects in the school. "When we can put A+B=C, we can create changes, and the same goes for the curriculum." By combining mathematics with multiple fields, management Weihong tells students in life: "Mathematics is very useful."