Page 288 - Volk, Marina, Štemberger, Tina, Sila, Anita, Kovač, Nives. Ur. 2021. Medpredmetno povezovanje: pot do uresničevanja vzgojno-izobraževalnih ciljev. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem
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gica Milinković, Milenko Ćurčić, and Slađana Mitrović
The safest way to connect mathematics and biology is to improve the pro-
fessional development of knowledge of pedagogical mathematical and bio-
logical content in the education of future class-teachers, biologists and math-
ematicians.
Conclusion
For years, scientists have been trying to answer the question of why there are
so many connections between the Fibonacci sequence and nature. In some
cases, it might be a coincidence, in other cases it is because a particular pat-
tern of growth is most effective when following the golden ratio. In plants,
that means the optimal light ratio on each petal or optimal seed arrange-
ment.
As plants are complex structures that change shape in response to vari-
ous environmental factors, some mathematical rules can be found in their
growth patterns, and certainly one of them is the golden ratio. The golden
ratio can be observed in branching systems, phyllotaxis, flowers and seeds,
and often in the spiral arrangement of plant organs (Zeng and Wang 2009).
Plant phyllotaxis has been studied for over a hundred years. It sparked
research in biochemistry, botany, gardening and mathematics. It turns out
that plants distribute space so that each stem has equal access to light and
other resources. To accomplish this, plants use complex numerology (Kap-
praff 2005).
Based on the above mathematical rules and laws in nature, cross-curricular
approach to processing the content of mathematics and biology starts from
the view that knowledge is a system in the process of constant transforma-
tion, and that in this sense it is necessary to change the role of teaching in stu-
dents’ lives. Such circumstances require a change in the character of learning
and teaching, that is, abandoning intellectual learning and encouraging the
overall development of the student, related to the personal experience and
own activities. For this reason, it is necessary to turn teaching into an active,
dynamic and creative process in which teachers and students are collabo-
rators who continuously evaluate their own work and outcomes (Milinković
2013).
The above-mentioned mathematical laws of nature act as a strong moti-
vating factor for students and make teaching much more interesting. This is
exactly the greatest benefit of connecting teaching content of related sub-
jects, as it leads to increased interest in all educational fields. The directions of
our future research will be based on examining the representation of cross-
curricular teaching of mathematics and biology in practice, and the extent to
286
The safest way to connect mathematics and biology is to improve the pro-
fessional development of knowledge of pedagogical mathematical and bio-
logical content in the education of future class-teachers, biologists and math-
ematicians.
Conclusion
For years, scientists have been trying to answer the question of why there are
so many connections between the Fibonacci sequence and nature. In some
cases, it might be a coincidence, in other cases it is because a particular pat-
tern of growth is most effective when following the golden ratio. In plants,
that means the optimal light ratio on each petal or optimal seed arrange-
ment.
As plants are complex structures that change shape in response to vari-
ous environmental factors, some mathematical rules can be found in their
growth patterns, and certainly one of them is the golden ratio. The golden
ratio can be observed in branching systems, phyllotaxis, flowers and seeds,
and often in the spiral arrangement of plant organs (Zeng and Wang 2009).
Plant phyllotaxis has been studied for over a hundred years. It sparked
research in biochemistry, botany, gardening and mathematics. It turns out
that plants distribute space so that each stem has equal access to light and
other resources. To accomplish this, plants use complex numerology (Kap-
praff 2005).
Based on the above mathematical rules and laws in nature, cross-curricular
approach to processing the content of mathematics and biology starts from
the view that knowledge is a system in the process of constant transforma-
tion, and that in this sense it is necessary to change the role of teaching in stu-
dents’ lives. Such circumstances require a change in the character of learning
and teaching, that is, abandoning intellectual learning and encouraging the
overall development of the student, related to the personal experience and
own activities. For this reason, it is necessary to turn teaching into an active,
dynamic and creative process in which teachers and students are collabo-
rators who continuously evaluate their own work and outcomes (Milinković
2013).
The above-mentioned mathematical laws of nature act as a strong moti-
vating factor for students and make teaching much more interesting. This is
exactly the greatest benefit of connecting teaching content of related sub-
jects, as it leads to increased interest in all educational fields. The directions of
our future research will be based on examining the representation of cross-
curricular teaching of mathematics and biology in practice, and the extent to
286
