Using Digital Art to teach Mathematics: a practical, fun, innovative way of teaching Mathematics
A novel initiative to empower township learners with algorithmic thinking and digital art – even traditional African fabric shweshwe is being used as a teaching tool – was presented amid delegates’ wide applause at the final meeting for 2024, of the Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics (TLM CoP). The TLM CoP is one of numerous communities of practice operating actively under the auspices of Universities South Africa (USAf).
This innovative teaching method was presented by Dr Sinobia Kenny (right), Academic Manager at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, (AIMS) who works collaboratively with Ms Jadga Huegle, a representative of SAP, a German software company, and Dr Ekaterina Rzyankina from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Dr Kenny’s interest, the impact of marginalisation in mathematics education, dovetails with the project she is busy with: blending mathematics with creativity to enhance critical thinking.
Presenting the topic Algorithmic Thinking for Digital Art to other Maths educators in the TLM CoP, she described how she uses open software called TurtleStitch to help learners visualise maths concepts through coding, merging creativity with logic, and problem solving.
It also offers teachers innovative tools to integrate STEM principles into curricula, enhancing hands-on learning in both Maths and Art.
“The whole idea is about empowering township learners, bypassing the teacher and going straight to the learner. We’re scratching the surface of their potential, giving primary and secondary school learners a creative and immersive encounter with algorithmic thinking.”
Saying she wanted to build a sustainable model, Dr Kenny said she was working with learners from eight schools on the Cape Flats in Cape Town.
Adding value
“I come from the Cape Flats and I know it’s of no value if somebody helicopters in, does some work and leaves. Even more valuable is being welcomed into a world-class institute like AIMS South Africa, where people believe you can add value to mathematical sciences.”
During workshops, Dr Kenny instructs older children that their role is not to look after the younger ones, but to be there as nurturing role models and future scientists. “While the teachers are present in the workshop, they are not actually showing the learners what to do. The results of our workshops were absolutely remarkable.”
She talked about one session where she’d not planned on teaching primary school learners.
“We were going to work with the high schools and took some of the younger girls to our computer lab … and they just started working with two high school kids.
“Within a few minutes, the results were astonishing in the sense that the primary school girls – they had not experienced life, so to speak, so had no fear in them – would just learn how to do the algorithms and one, two, three, there was a piece of digital art designed.
“So the idea is that, yes, we recognise that we have sewing in our cultures, but instead of actually sitting with a needle and thread and starting from the stitching, we are taking stitching to another level by focusing and turning the attention to the digital design. Then the machine does the stitching.
Dr Kenny said that while the evidence of the creation is at the end, learners had to learn how to construct algorithms.
“The whole idea is around sequencing, order, logic, trial and improvement, estimating, knowledge of angles, knowledge of length, eventually variables. But they’re doing the mathematics and they’re creating these absolutely spectacular designs through the thinking process, and we then use the sewing machines to stitch them.
“I think what’s most important is that while they learn to code, they also leave with something tangible – which is a big difference as many universities are just doing robotics. With our project, the learners see the value of a piece of work that, maybe, gets stitched onto a backpack, which they can take home and show off to their parents.”
Team member Jadga Huegle, explained: “We create the visual programming language that (open source) TurtleStitch is based on. Because it’s a visual programming language, you programme by dragging and dropping together blocks. Digital embroidery machines are used, based on SNAP, a programming language that I worked on.”
Turtlestitch is…
- A visual, blocks programming language
- Allows export of files for embroidery machines or plotters
- Based on Snap! (https://snap.berkeley.edu)
- Low floor:
- Drag and drop programming
- Graphical output
- Interesting and diverse results
- Different languages
- High ceiling:
- Customisable for teachers
- Advanced programming concepts
- Working with data
Ms Huegle (left) said: “What we mean by low floor is that we want to have an inviting environment. We want it to be easy to use (SNAP or TurtleStitch) from the beginning.”
She said graphical output was very valuable. “We want diverse results so everybody can do something that they are interested in. So, we’re not trying to do this traditionally, like a puzzle where there’s one solution. We want to actually support designing.
“Our programme is localised in different languages, so if I run workshops with German classes for example, I can just switch to German.”
The high ceiling part referred to the programming language that’s aimed at high school and university level students.
“We try to convey all the concepts that we think are important for computer science and math education, but in a fun and engaging way,” Ms Huegle further explained. “Also, we’ve added a couple of capabilities that makes it customisable for teachers so we can teach advanced programming concepts with it.”
She said TurtleStitch could teach university level and high school level computer science concepts. “You programme by dragging and dropping the blocks in what we call the scripting area, and you immediately get a graphical output. You can work with data and show advanced programming concepts.”
Endless possibilities
She gave the CoP delegates examples of wide-ranging capabilities of the programme, saying that it could be used to write functions and do data analysis.
Ms Huegle added that using the embroidery feature could capture different messages – from an ecological or political perspective. “It doesn’t have to be African art – it could be anything.”
Regarding the use of TurtleStitch for teachers, she said it was possible to work with younger learners on a specific project. “Often, when I do workshops with younger learners, I extend the palette, pre-preparing a couple of blocks for them so they can experiment with blocks that I made; so they have an idea of what is possible.”
The digital embroidery machine
Ms Huegle explained that the digital embroidery machine was “basically a sewing machine, with an embroidery arm that automatically moves based on the file created in TurtleStitch that you give it.
Algorithmic and computational thinking
By way of example, she described the image of a flower, and the many ways of deconstructing it. “There are different ways of how you could think about a problem and you can make it more complicated as you think about how to construct your algorithm.
“The nice thing is this all happens without us telling the kids that they’re learning new concepts because they are just developing their design. Then, when they stumble on a problem, we introduce variables saying ‘now you need to find out about X if you want to finish the design’. They learn by doing things, by trial and error.”
She said they were trying to combine culture and mathematics.
“In computing education, the term ‘culturally responsive computing’ is really big. The idea is that to teach a subject or a concept in computing, you tap into learners’ cultural backgrounds and do something that they find interesting.”
The topics could include culture, hobbies, religion or family – anything relatable.
For example, traditional African shweshwe fabric was used as part of the learning. “We bought shweshwe in Cape Town, attached squares of fabric to cards so learners could try to deconstruct the algorithm by, for example, identifying the basic shapes contained in the fabric pattern – circles, petals, semicircles, triangles. Then they try to find how you could recreate the pattern, which is an avenue into teaching about algorithms.”
Ms Huegle said they used the PRIMM framework: predict, run, investigate, modify, make.
“It’s an idea from computer science education where you first use other people’s projects before you build your own, or modify.
Dr Kenny said: “I really like this because it lets you think about how you will design something in a linear approach by applying logic and using knowledge of mathematics to learn a skill. We’re super excited about our project. We now have five machines, so are able to bring more learners to AIMS. Our whole idea is to turn townships into towns.”
Ms Janet van Rhyn (right), USAf’s Project Manager in Operations and Sector Support, asked Dr Kenny what change she wanted to see in the tangible impact of this project.
Dr Kenny: “I find school very limited. We need to tap into the entrepreneurial aspect of this. I’m into post-colonial research and believe the voices of these young people need to be documented. In that space we can change the narrative of people of colour, turning townships into towns. If I can’t get people into university, maybe I can get them into business.
Dr Jacob Maritz, Associate Professor, Mathematics at Nelson Mandela University, noting the impact achieved through alternative ways of teaching important mathematical concepts, asked if she’d measured this in terms of the actual improvement in mathematics.
Dr Kenny: No, I don’t have any evidence of that. What I can offer to them is the golden thread that keeps mathematics together, which is the mathematical thinking. Are they able to apply logic, estimate, trial and prove, compare, sort, analyse, evaluate? Those aspects are more important, not just in future but current education. I work in a cutting edge institution where, you know, there is no curriculum because it’s changing all the time.
Charmain Naidoo is a contract writer with Universities South Africa.
