https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4404-3291
![Sample our Computer Science journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5928/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Computer-Science.jpg"})
Abstract
This paper details a qualitative study examining the experience and motivation of participants, facilitators, and organizers of the Math Circus, an event hosted by the University of Arkansas Honors College in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as part of the university’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The aim of the Math Circus was to entice participants to explore advanced mathematical concepts through collective mathematical art creations and dramatic storytelling of comic tales around the history behind mathematics. The study was carried out in two phases; an autoethnographic case study during the event; and a series of deep, semi-structured interviews with participants, facilitators, and organizers. The study examined pedagogical motivations behind the event’s activities and their mathematical content, as well as the experiences of the interviewees. Findings indicate that an interactive and festive event like the Math Circus is likely to encourage confidence to explore mathematical concepts further.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Acknowledgements
The researchers would like to thank the entire Math Circus team and interviewees who generously devoted their time to be interviewed. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their kind and helpful suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Declaration of interest statement
No funding was received for this study, but the corresponding researcher would like to declare familial ties to Edmund Harrriss, the founder of Curvahedra, and a member of the editorial team for the Journal of Mathematics and the Arts (Special issue The Art of Mathematical Illustration; and Focus). Harriss was part of the Math Circus offerings but was not part of this study otherwise.
Ethics
The research complies with the University of Iceland’s guidelines for ethical research.
Notes
1 Curvahedra is a construction puzzle system where identical cut pieces link together to build a variety of 3D structures.
2 https://news.uark.edu/articles/59280/experience-the-beauty-of-mathematics-in-courtyard-curvahedra-
3 A rhombic triacontahedron is a polyhedron with 30 rhombic faces, and icosahedral symmetry.
4 Penrose tilings are aperiodic tilings that can have both reflection symmetry and fivefold rotational symmetry (Gardner, Citation1977). They can infinitely tile a plane by copies of a pair of certain shapes (most popularly kites and darts) (Penrose, Citation1979). Penrose tilings’ properties and applications have been studied in fields beyond mathematics, including physics, material science, and art. For further information, see the works of John H. Conway (b.1 937- d. 2020) (Radin, Citation2021; Schattschneider, Citation2021); de Bruijn (Citation1981a; Citation1981b), Shechtman et al. (Citation1984), Levine and Steinhardt (Citation1984), Lu and Steinhardt (Citation2007); Sakai and Arita (Citation2019); Yan et al. (Citation2020); and Padilla (Citation2022).
5 Islamic geometric tiling patterns are ancient forms of islamic decorations usually consisting of repetitions of overlapping and interlaced, both basic and more complex, geometric shapes which are arranged by different techniques, including rotations, symmetries, and regular and semi-regular tessellations of shapes that can be repeated infinitely to cover the surface without any gaps (Bonner, Citation2017). The art form is found throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and beyond, including Alhambra in Spain, Golestan Palace in Tehran, and Taj Mahal in India. Bonner’s book Islamic Geometric Patterns (Citation2017) is a great resource for further study of this rich and versatile mathematical art form.