Project Summary

The purpose of this project is to pique the students’ interest in trigonometry and
to refresh their knowledge of past algebra classes. The majority of students despise
math and find it very boring, hopefully, this project will get a lot more students interested
in the math I will be teaching. I am achieving this goal by having the students create a
piece of art via different functions encompassing every function they have learned up to
this point.
I believe the knowledge that creativity and art being involved will keep the
students engaged. There is a couple of days of build-up before they can begin their
artwork but I think they will be excited enough to to the work leading up to it. Some
specific activities that will keep the students engaged are their rough draft drawings,
creating their own formula cheat sheets, and exploring the Desmos site. This project
would be explained to an audience other than my students by showing them a finished
project then working backward. Showing off the finished art then showcasing the math
involved.
I can see this project being combined with an English or an art class. An English
could collaborate with this project via creative writing. The students could have to write
a story about the piece of art they have created. The project could easily be combined
with an art class via having the students be required to use certain techniques or
mediums to finish their artwork. If they are currently studying watercolor in their art
class, they have to color their math piece of art using watercolor, etc.
This project will be important to my students because it makes them use their
math skills in an out of the box way. It reinforces their critical thinking and
problem-solving skills. Those skills are important life skills that will help the students in
their adult lives. Hopefully, if the students enjoy the project enough, it will help lower the
negative stigma around math and make a math class more welcoming. Having students
not hate and despise their math classes is a good step forward for everyone involved.