PI/MATH DAY

Recently our school has begun celebrating Pi Day.The event is dedicated to the magical world of Mathematics and Physics.The event  featured several stalls with fun activities for people to engage in, and learn more about the fascinating world of numbers, shapes, and patterns. I volunteered to hold a stall that integrated math and arts. Specifically my stall was of Hitomezashi art patterns. My goal was to make people crack a bit of their brains and create beautiful patterns for themselves by trying my best to explain the process. 

LO1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth. 

Upon reflection, I noticed a recurring first impression among visitors to my stall – the perception that the task required to be significantly smart,preventing many from attempting it. Recognizing my weakness in effectively conveying the simplicity of the task, I acknowledge that my explanations fell short of persuading individuals to engage fully. To address this, I aim to enhance my ability to convince others by refining my communication skills through thorough preparation and practice of my explanations beforehand. This proactive approach will enable me to better articulate the simplicity of the task, fostering increased participation and engagement. 

LO2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills.

My participation was very last minute, thus organizing an entire stall with instructions, demonstrations,and simulations was a huge challenge. I overcame it by going to school early for 2 days. After undertaking this challenge I realized that everything has its own way of turning around if you give your best efforts. 

LO4 – Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience.

Furthermore, running this stall also required a lot of commitment. The art patterns were not that easy to understand and design. Thus I had to guide the volunteer through every single step. This indeed required a lot of commitment and patience. It made me feel very restless and impatient but I overcame it by pushing myself through it. 

LO3 – Demonstrate How to Initiate and Plan a CAS Experience

Given the last-minute nature of my participation, organizing the stall required a lot of quick thinking. I had to gather materials, plan out the instructions for the Hitomezashi art patterns, and create a demonstration to make the process easier to understand. I arrived early at school for two days to ensure everything was ready and to practice my explanations.
Planning was difficult because of the time constraints. Gathering the right materials, creating engaging demonstrations, and ensuring my explanations were clear all had to be done in a short span of time. Initiating the stall itself was easier once the plan was set, but the planning process took more effort.I discovered that I am capable of adapting to last-minute changes and working under pressure. Additionally, I developed my ability to improvise and manage my time efficiently. These are skills that will be useful in future projects as well.


 LO7 – Recognize and Consider the Ethics of Choices and Actions


The main ethical issue was ensuring that every visitor to the stall, regardless of their prior knowledge of math or art, felt welcomed and encouraged to participate. Many people initially felt intimidated by the complexity of the task, so I needed to ensure that I didn’t unintentionally discourage them from trying. These issues affected me directly because my goal was to make the activity engaging for everyone, not just those who felt confident in math. The way I communicated the task either helped or hindered their participation, which put a lot of responsibility on me to be clear and encouraging. It made me feel a bit disappointed, as I realized my explanations weren’t convincing enough for everyone to participate. However, it also made me aware of how important it is to communicate effectively and inclusively, especially when teaching or guiding others.

In the end, something that I would change would be to provide better videos and explanations that would be convincing enough for people to volunteer more. Further, the patterns would have turned out better if there was availability of dot paper. All of this made me feel a bit unsatisfied with the results and reaction of people. But, atleast me trying is what matters the most.