Mathematics and Beauty: Aesthetic Approaches to Teaching Children

In this innovative book, Nathalie Sinclair makes a compelling case for the inclusion of the aesthetic in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Using a provocative set of philosophical, psychological, mathematical, technological, and educational insights, she illuminates how the materials and approaches we use in the mathematics classroom can be enriched for the benefit of all learners. While ranging in scope from the young learner to the professional mathematician, there is a particular focus on middle school, where negative feelings toward mathematics frequently begin. Offering specific recommendations to help teachers evoke and nurture their students’ aesthetic abilities, this book:

• Features powerful episodes from the classroom that show students in the act of developing a sense of mathematical aesthetics.
• Analyzes how aesthetic sensibilities to qualities such as connectedness, fruitfulness, apparent simplicity, visual appeal, and surprise are fundamental to mathematical inquiry.
• Includes examples of mathematical inquiry in computer-based learning environments, revealing some of the roles they play in supporting students’ aesthetic inclinations.