Reflection on presentation

We selected the art work by Sharol Nau for our presentation. We found this art work very interesting and engaging. This art work is about "how many triangles do you see" in the given 5 base triangle. This is a very good brainstorming exercise for students. Usually when we see these type of problems, we feel curiosity to get the answer, and our mind starts thinking critically. Therefore, we thought that this art work would engage the classroom, and encourage students to think critically.

After selecting the art work, we first helped each other to completely understand the whole concept. We started thinking about the shape of the triangle, tables and patterns we can use to solve the problem, and the formula that can be used to solve this problem. Once we ourselves were cleared, we all brought different types of ideas to make this project interesting for students. We first selected the 5 base triangle for our activity, then we thought about starting from base 1, then 2 and so on, to help students understand the basics of the whole activity. Basic knowledge is very important to easily understand the whole concept. When we have the total understanding of the concept, we can solve all the other related difficult problems very easily. Then, we decided to explain the concept through table method where students only needed to calculate the upside and downside triangles on different bases, observe the pattern, and then add them together to get the answer. We also did rehearsal before our presentation where we decided who will perform which part.

I decided to make this art work on paper chart. To make it more artistic and easy to understand I choose two different color of papers to separate upside triangles and downside triangles . Each triangle is equilateral with sides 4.5cm and angles 60 degree. We can also make the same project for isosceles triangle. While making this art work I realised that how geometry can be taught to students through this project. They can learn about the properties of isosceles  triangle and equilateral triangle, base of the triangle, patterns followed to solve the problem, triangular numbers through this project.

During our presentation, I realised that we were successful in engaging our class with our presentation. Everybody was able to understand the concept and to find the number of triangles in 5 base triangle.