Students at St Luke's High School, Barrhead, found out that maths isn't just for accountants and bankers with a series of projects to demonstrate how trigonometry is used everyday.
S3 pupils took part in CSI Barrhead, where they played the role of a crime scene investigator, exploring the death of a fictional character that had been shot from a window of a high rise flat. They took information relating to the angle at which the bullet entered the body, along with several other measurements, to allow them to identify which window the bullet was fired from.
Throughout the project the pupils were given freedom to decide how they wanted to work and how they would present their findings. They were also given the responsibility of choosing their working partners and deciding on a deadline for the task. The CSI Barrhead project included research as well as a focus on literacy skills by developing the pupil's creative writing skills and presentation techniques.
An additional task called 'Dambusters' also built on the pupil's understanding of trigonometry. Based on the World War II mission, it encouraged pupils to apply their knowledge and understanding of the cosine and sine rules and identify the angle at which a bomb had to be dropped from a plane to blow up the dam.
Pupils had to include historical background in their findings which were presented as a mission file from the RAF. The school maths and history departments worked together alongside physics classes. Trigonometry was covered in maths lessons, while the history department delivered information on the Dambuster mission, highlighting key dates and people. Pupils who were studying physics also used the Dambuster project to assist them with the mechanics element of their course.
Christopher Smith, Maths teacher at St Luke's High School, said: "The pupils engaged extremely well with the project and with each other and enjoyed the experience. They were extremely creative and enthusiastic and have a clear understanding of the topic and its applications."
Both projects help to creatively engage pupils in mathematics and trigonometry in a very practical and active way. The projects are now fully integrated into the school's course plans for S3 mathematics and all pupils now have the opportunity to take part.