Abstract
This paper discusses pathways of creativity and focuses on the one which goes through practice in creation and analysis of useful and mathematically meaningful artifacts. We followed the pathway in the workshop “Geometry of Ornaments” conducted in 2008–2009 in one of the Israeli Arab teacher colleges. Ornaments are treated as geometric patterns of cultural value composed of basic units repeated under different transformations. The workshop involved prospective teachers in practice of construction and analysis of geometric ornaments from different cultures as well as in teaching geometry in this context to middle school pupils. In the follow-up, we observed creative performances demonstrated in innovative works of some of the students. Their creativity was expressed in constructing new stylized ornaments, discerning interesting geometrical problems related to these ornaments and finding different approaches to solve them. The students became aware of ornaments not only as decorations, but also as interesting geometrical objects.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Batdal, G. (2008). History of the gifted education and developing creativity in Turkey. Retrieved August 23, 2009, from International Workshop and Research Project: Intercultural Aspects of Creativity: Challenges and Barriers Web site: http://construct.haifa.ac.il/~rozal/templeton/Gulsah%20BATDAL-%20Templeton%20workshop.pdf
Bishop, A. J. (1988). Mathematics education in its cultural context. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 19(2), 179–191.
D’Ambrosio, P. (2007). Students feed monkeys for education: Using the Zhuangzi to communicate in a contemporary system of education. KRITIKE Journal of Philosophy, 1(2), 36–48. doi: http://www.kritike.org/journal/issue_2/d'ambrosio_december2007.pdf
D’Ambrosio, U. (1985). Ethnomathematics and its place in the history and pedagogy of mathematics. For the Learning of Mathematics, 5(1), 44–48.
Darvas, G. (2007). Symmetry. Basel: Birkhauser.
El-Said, I. (1993). Islamic art and architecture. The system of geometric design. In T. El- Bori & K. Critchlow (Eds.), Reading, UK: Garnet Publishing.
Gerdes, P. (2005). Ethnomathematics, geometry and educational experiences in Africa. Africa Development, 30(3), 48–65.
Gibson, C., Folley, B. S., & Park, S. (2009). Enhanced divergent thinking and creativity in musicians: A behavioral and near-infrared spectroscopy study. Brain and Cognition, 69, 162–169.
Goldin, G. (2008). The affective dimension of mathematical inventiveness. In Proceedings of the international conference “Creativity in mathematics and the education of gifted students” (pp. 3–14). Israel.
Lu, P. J., & Steinhardt, P. J. (2007). Decagonal and quasi-crystalline tilings in medieval Islamic architecture. Science, 315, 1106.
Mann, E. L. (2006). Creativity: The essence of mathematics. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 30(2), 236–262.
Massarwe, K., Verner, I., & Bshouty, D. (2010). Pathways of creativity: Joyful learning of geometry through analysis and construction of ornaments. Mediterranean Journal of Mathematics Education. Special Issue Intercultural Aspects of Creativity: Challenges and Barriers, 9(2), 93–105.
Milgram, R. M. (2008). Talent loss: Causes and solutions. In Proceedings of the international conference “Creativity in mathematics and the education of gifted students” (pp. 15–20). Israel.
Nevo, B. (2008). Definitions (axioms), values, and empirical validation in the education of gifted children. Proceedings of the international conference “Creativity in mathematics and the education of gifted students” (pp. 21–28). Israel.
Prediger, S. (2004). Intercultural perspectives on mathematics learning – Developing a theoretical framework. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2(3), 377–406.
Presmeg, N. C. (1998). Ethnomathematics in teacher education. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 1(3), 317–339.
Sriraman, B. (2004). The characteristics of mathematical creativity. The Mathematics Educator, 14(1), 19–34.
Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1999). The concept of creativity: Prospects and paradigms. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 3–15). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Subotnik, R. F. (2008). The psychological dimensions of creativity in mathematics: Implications for gifted education policy. In Proceedings of the international conference “Creativity in mathematics and the education of gifted students” (pp. 35–48). Israel.
Torrance, E. P. (1974). Torrance tests of creative thinking. Bensenvill, IL: Scholastic Testing Service.
Treffinger, D. J., Young, G. C., Selby, E. C., & Shepardson, C. (2002). Assessing creativity: A guide for educators. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning. ERIC ED477675. Retrived September 16, 2009, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1b/26/d4.pdf
Verner, I., & Bshouty, D. (2008). Geometric applications in architecture: Problem solving, design, and multicultural education [PowerPoint]. Haifa, Israel: International Workshop and Research Project: Intercultural Aspects of Creativity: Challenges and Barriers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Sense Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Massarwe, K., Verner, I., Bshouty, D. (2011). Fostering Creativity through Geometrical and Cultural Inquiry into Ornaments. In: Sriraman, B., Lee, K.H. (eds) The Elements of Creativity and Giftedness in Mathematics. Advances in Creativity and Giftedness, vol 1. SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-439-3_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-439-3_14
Publisher Name: SensePublishers
Online ISBN: 978-94-6091-439-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)
