Ms. Anna Gibson, upper school math teacher, created a course for our school called Trigonometry & Architecture, which fuses both the history of the evolution of architecture as well as the math that underlies the subject, as an alternative for seniors to take instead of calculus.
CapEd chose Ms. Gibson’s application to fund the hands-on learning experience provided during the Gothic architecture unit. Ms. Gibson has students build a four-foot replica of a Gothic cathedral, complete with real stained glass windows, flying buttresses, and gargoyles. This is done using massive sheets of styrofoam that are carefully cut out, glued together, and covered in putty, to mirror the stonework. Glass windows are modeled after authentic gothic-era windows, gargoyles are carefully carved out of clay, and even the interior must match that of a traditional cathedral’s layout.
Says Ms. Gibson, “This project requires skills of all kinds and involves every kind of student; it involves creativity as to the décor and realistic ornamentation, leadership for the direction and oversight of the project at large, engineering to design the blueprint and manufacture the raw structure, and teamwork to do this as a class. Additionally, it cements the finer details of gothic architecture almost subconsciously, as the students spend six weeks in intense focus on this one project. Skills in blueprinting, ratios, trigonometry, and geometry are used constantly, to insure the structure stays standing (or to correct mishaps along the way!). The students love to work with their hands (and power tools!), and since we do not have a shop class here, this is as close as they get to that. It is the highlight of many students’ year, and the lead architect from last year’s class was so inspired by his own investment in the project that he chose to go into civil engineering. I believe that math should not only be logical but should be beautiful. This gothic cathedral reminds the students of just that every year.”
Congratulations Ms. Gibson!
