The purpose of the CTL in Mathematics Immersion Experience is to demonstrate how mathematics can be taught in a context. The context happens to be several museums and a mosque located in Washington, D.C. With the help of Carol Bier, the curator of the Textile Museum, which is located in the heart of Dupont Circle, I am designing a two-day workshop which will bring mathematics teaching and learning alive. The goal of the two day workshop is to explore possibilities for teaching and learning K-12 mathematics by looking at and utilizing mathematical aspects of art, specifically Islamic art, in which geometry, patterns, and symmetry play such dominant roles. In this two day workshop, we will learn about the 17 symmetry group patterns, mathematical patterns, geometrical ideas such as isometries, all set in a context ideal for teaching these mathematical ideas. We will explore symmetry and pattern in carpets, textiles at the Textile Museum. We will discover the geometrical ideas in the walls and artwork of the Washington International Mosque. We will examine the mathematical and geometric beauty in Islamic and Arabic art at the African Museum of Art, the Freer Gallery of Art, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, who are all members of the Smithsonian Institution.

Carol Bier will design and lead the two day workshop. Her life's work has been dedicated to unearthing the mathematics hidden in textiles, Islamic, and Arabic Art. In July 2000, I had the opportunity to participate in a full day workshop, which she led at the Textile Museum. It had a profound impact on how I view the relationship between mathematics and art, in particular textiles.

Dr. Clint McCrory, a mathematician from the UGA mathematics department, has also agreed to participate in this project. He has agreed to teach a two hour course about symmetry in mathematics. He will focus on the 17 symmetry group patterns. His participation is designed to be a bridge between the art and mathematics.

The following is a tentative itinerary:

Thursday, April 19, 2001

Friday, April 20, 2001

• 8:30 a.m.- Noon Workshop at the Textile Museum
• Noon- 1 p.m. Lunch in Dupont Circle
• 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Workshop at the Washington International Mosque Dinner and Leisure time to explore open museums in DC

Saturday, April 21, 2001

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Tour the following museums: African Museum of Art Freer Gallery of Art Arthur M. Sackler Museum Dinner and Leisure time in DC Sunday,

April 22, 2001 Return to Athens by 3 p.m.

P.S. Some funding was rovided for this trip by:

UGA CTL Project

UGA parents and Families Association