From 2013-2017, we completed large and small projects to introduce middle and high school students at Saint Bernard School (Montville, CT) to optics and to show them how the math they were learning could be put to use to understand their universe. Each project included hands-on activities, with simple-to-find materials whenever possible. We also celebrated the International Day of Light with photo contests, themed “Light in our Life”. Funding for these projects was provided by educational outreach grants from SPIE.
The projects:
Illuminating Math with Optics – Why study precalculus? What can you do with all those seemingly unrelated topics?
Why Do I Need To Know This? – Math and Optics and Problem Based Learning in the calculus classroom.
Seeing the Light: Introducing Optics/Photonics Through Middle School Mathematics – An introduction to math applications and structured problem solving using problems in optics with middle school children.
