WRAP-UP/ HOMEWORK: Students search for mathemetical
metaphors
in Emeagwali's work.
Students write about the mathematical concept or theory in that
specific work. Younger students may receive help from teachers in making
the metaphoric comparisons.
Further
Questions for Discussion:
- What are some examples of stereotypes about mathematicians?
- Why did Thomas Jefferson argue that Africans cannot understand advanced mathematical concepts?
- Are the greatest mathematicians of ancient times such as Euclid & Fibonacci Africans?
- How do television promote these stereotypes?
- Do you need mathematics in your future career?
- How is mathematics used to discover and recover petroleum?
- How is mathematics used to forecast the weather?
- How is mathematics used to design supercomputers? The Internet?
- How is mathematics used in your daily life?
- Why are some people love mathematics?
- Why do some people hate mathematics?
Evaluation
/ Assessment:
Students will be evaluated based on participation in
classroom discussion and "mathematical metaphors in Emeagwali's Work" project.
Vocabulary:
supercomputer, Internet, network, parallel computers, calculus, partial differential equations,
hypercubes, topology, geometry, linear algebra,
Extension
Activities:
- Study a famous mathematical discovery? Present the latter discovery to your class.
- Find an article dealing with mathematics in Emeagwali's work and discuss it with your classmates.
Interdisciplinary
Connections:
Science: Relate perceptions and stereotypes of
scientists to those of mathematicians. How are scientists portrayed in
movies and on television? How are these media stereotypes similar? How are
they different?
Language Arts: Study the "mathematics of poetry"
(specifically, meter and rhyme schemes).
Academic Content Standards: 
This lesson
plan may be used to address the academic standards listed below. These
standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A
Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition
and have been provided courtesy of the Mid-continent Research for Education and
Learning in Aurora, Colorado.
In addition, this lesson plan may be used to address the academic
standards of a specific state. Links are provided where available from
each McREL standard to the Achieve
website containing state standards for over 40 states. The state standards
are from Achieve's
National Standards Clearinghouse and have been provided courtesy of
Achieve, Inc. in Cambridge Massachusetts and Washington, DC.
Grades 6-8
Mathematics Standard 9- Understands the general nature
and uses of mathematics. Benchmark: Understands that mathematicians often
represent real things using abstract ideas like numbers or lines- they
then work with these abstractions to learn about the things they
represent.
Art Connections Standard 1- Understands connections among
the various art forms and other disciplines. Benchmark: Knows how various
concepts and principles are used in the arts and disciplines outside the
arts (e.g., balance, shape, pattern)
Grades 9-12
Mathematics
Standard 9- Understands the general nature and uses of mathematics.
Benchmarks: Understands that theories in mathematics are greatly
influenced by practical issues- real-world problems sometimes result in
new mathematical theories and pure mathematical theories sometimes have
highly practical applications; Understands that mathematics provides a
precise system to describe objects, events, and relationships and to
construct logical arguments; Understands that mathematics often stimulates
innovations in science and technology
Art Connections Standard 1-
Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines.
Benchmarks: Knows ways in which various art media can be integrated;
Understands how elements, materials, technologies, artistic processes, and
organizational principles are used in similar and distinctive ways in the
various art forms