About Math Scene

Math Scene explores mathematics through an artistic, dramatic lens.

Math Scene is a project by George Gadanidis, UWO, Janette Hughes, UOIT and Marcelo Borba, São Paulo State University, Brazil.

Gadanidis and Hughes first worked on the math-drama activities found in Math Scene in the early 1990s, and presented their work at the 1995 OAME conference. Gadanidis used drama in his mathematics classroom, where students explored math concepts by acting out skits such as the ones performed in Math Scene. Hughes used a focus on mathematics in her high school drama classroom, where students prepared math skits and performed them for younger students at local elementary schools.

More recently (2002-3), Hughes also used drama in teaching mathematics as a grade 6/7 teacher. Gadanidis and Hughes wrote about some of these experiences and ideas in their 2005 paper on Using Humour to Gain Mathematical Insight (Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 10(5), 244-250).

Gadanidis (and friends) have been performing mathematics in schools, at conferences for teachers, and at family math sessions over the last couple of years. See the In Tune with Math article.

Currently, Gadanidis, Borba and Hughes are also working on a closely related project on Digital Mathematical Performance. Gadanidis and Borba have written about mathematics as performance in their forthcoming paper Our Lives as Performance Mathematicians, to be published in For the Learning of Mathematics.

Math Scene will soon be transformed into a site for sharing mathematical performances. In the meantime, please comment or post your own math performances at the Math Scene Wiki. The password is sceneit.

Math Scene performances have been developed in collaboration with:

• Brittany Brunt, Scott McKenzie, Samantha Odell & Ryan Patterson, DDSB students
• Joan Etienne, DDSB teacher
• Nisha Bedi, Maurice Charland & Bryan Williston, DDSB teachers
• Daryn Bee, UWO

Math Scene performances are based on the mathematical writings of George Gadanidis.