Research in Maths

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Presentation on Pythagoras
Whenever research work is given in Maths, it must always have some boundaries and some area to freely explore. I tried this in the research on Mathematicians. I wanted students to come closer to the 'who they were' of Maths without making it very pedantic. 
I divided the class into groups and gave a name to each group without explaining anything. The names were:
  1. Pythagoras
  2. Ramanujam
  3. Euler
  4. Descartes
  5. Shakuntala Devi
The task given to them was: Research them and find information as follows:
  1. WHO was he/she?
  2. WHAT did he/she do to be famous?
  3. WHERE was he/she born?
  4. WHY should we know about him/her?
  5. HOW was his/her childhood and later years?
  6. Any other information about him/her you find useful
They had to get information that they could back up during the presentation. This ensured they did not go overboard and actually thought about what they were presenting. They had to work in groups to ensure collaboration. The choice of presentation tool was theirs. 
Fantastic experience!

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