Practical problem solving is not common in many mathematical classes in Malaysian upper secondary schools. Usually, students receive the mathematical concepts through abstract materials (students cannot see some of them in their daily life). Thus some students believe that 'mathematics is not necessary for human life'. In this article, the…

How do cross-bracing, geometry, and base isolation help buildings withstand earthquakes? These important structural design features involve fundamental geometry that elementary school students can readily model and understand. The problem activity, Designing an Earthquake-Resistant Building, was undertaken by several classes of sixth- grade…

This article presents an activity that allows students to use mathematics and critical-thinking skills to emulate processes used by the ancient Egyptians to prepare the site for the Pyramids of Giza. To accomplish this, they use three different methods. First, they create a square using only simple technological tools that were available to the…

Introduces a place of mathematics using a town called Amiens and its Cathedral whose overall floor plan was based on the Greek cross using proportions matching that of the ideal human body, the figures in the shape of an octagram or star octagon, and the symbols in the design. (ASK)

Humans are endowed with cognitive modules specialised in processing information about the class of natural things. Due to their naturalness, fractal art and design can contribute to developing these modules, and trigger affective responses that are associated with certain natural objects. It is argued that exposure to fractals in an art and design…

This article describes a unit of instruction designed to promote a conceptual understanding of area in sixth-grade students. Students used benchmarks to estimate the areas of real houses and calculated the areas of houses based on building plans. (Contains 7 figures.)

Describes a popular seventh-grade mathematics project that involves house plans. Students choose house plans from books, transfer the plan to grid paper, and stake out the floor plan on a vacant area of the neighborhood. Project includes designing dream homes, researching jobs to afford their homes, and discussion of real-life concerns. (PVD)