Teacher Marco Ghergo implemented the activityThe architecture of trees in the primary school Plesso di Villa Strada (part of Istituto Comprensivo Coldigioco-Mestica) in Cingoli (MC).
“The most interesting aspect was noticing the enthusiasm of the boys and girls when the activity allowed them to create direct connections with other subjects: talking about the architecture of trees enabled us to explore elements of science and geography without the rigid ‘barriers’ between disciplines. It was a true experiment that showed how a practical, experiential approach to mathematics (still very uncommon in schools) can help students clearly understand the meaning of numerical laws (dimensions, variables, geometries, repeating patterns) as effective tools for describing reality, sparking enthusiasm for a subject that many consider difficult.
The most rewarding moment was hearing some of the children say, while creating the trees: ‘Today we only did art: luckily, no maths!’ In reality, they were doing far more mathematics by studying the architecture of trees than in many other situations. Perhaps we managed to give mathematics meaning by making it feel ‘painless’. Those are the moments that make all the effort worthwhile.”
