BLOG #3 Christi Coomes
Da Vinci and PBL
I am a big fan of Leonardo Da Vinci. Da
Vinci’s thought processes were the
epitome of PBL. When you look at
his notes and his “to do list”, he was always looking to solve a problem.
His problems were not isolated to math or science, but involved a bigger
picture. His problem solving skills
involved looking across disciplines to come up with solutions or improve
existing concepts. For example, he used the Golden Ratio, a math concept,
to incorporate into his art (the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper).
I think we are always so busy trying to teach
our own discipline that we forget how integrated our world really is. If
you look at the fern leaf, you can see fractal mathematics, something with a
finite area but an infinite perimeter. Yale University encourages their
students to mingle with students from other disciplines to generate new
solutions to problems in a discipline. If an art student hangs out with
an engineer, the engineer might have a conversation with the art student that
might help the engineer come up with an innovative approach to new invention or
to solve a problem.
I think that PBL is an excellent tool to provide
students with the opportunity to see the interconnectedness between
disciplines. What are your thoughts?
Hi Christi,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed our discussion last week about Da Vinci and what you've been learning about his process. I agree with you that his process of learning everything from anatomy to physics connected to his passion for art and he truly was a cross disciplinary learner. I am thankful that you have seen the benefit of this connected approach and work to provide this to your students.
Sincerely,
Dawn