Rationale
A lot of teachers, including myself, do not take class time to teach students about fractals. More often than not, I will just mention it and give a few examples of it. Now, when you look around us and also take a look at the visual arts and sciences, you will realize that fractals are present. Also, as recommended by NCTM connections and standards, mathematics teachers should connect the math to their students' environment. So another way that I will accomplish this is to teach fractals in relation to the human organ. Fractal geometry is a really "cool" concept to teach. They change the way test, classify define, and evaluate the world around us, and opens new doors in the world of mathematics.Fractal images are very mysterious and students tend to get very inquisitive and excited to try to find out how these images come about. Another exciting fact about fractals is, you do not have to be a genius to take them on.
Connecting mathematics and the sciences has been one of the main objectives of the country's educational system. This unit will be used to bridge further the gap between mathematics and science by looking at symmetry, fractals and the lung. Someone will say "the lungs…what has that got to do with mathematics?" Geometry is an important aspect of many of the standardized tests. On standardized tests, the concepts are often not so straightforward, but are hidden within other concepts. Some students will automatically give up when they see such questions. Others that know the concept have a difficult time trying to relate it to other concepts and hence are not able to answer the questions. By developing the confidence and the skills to tackle fractals, students will not only improve their math skills with the four basic operations, but will also hopefully transfer their knowledge to other mathematical areas.
Fractals can be seen all around us, there is the need to take some time off to teach these concepts and their properties. Several articles in mathematical journals, written by professionals in the field like, Cynthia Laniu of Rice University, also express the need for teaching fractals and its properties as a part of the math curriculum. In lieu of this I will use this unit to showcase how we can achieve this.
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