traced the quadrants using a very thick black outline, while others
What is so appealing and convincing about this activity is that it could
created a much thinner outline.
have easily served as a formal assessment of students’ knowledge of
After the students completed their algebraic art, the teacher and I
transformed a classroom wall into an art gallery, showcasing the
students’ mathematical masterpieces (figure 3). We marveled at how
similar, yet different, each piece of art appeared, despite the fact that
all of the students had correctly interpreted and graphed the given
information in each of the four quadrants. That is, their wall drawings
truly and accurately embodied the concept presented. What was
different were the students’ personal interpretations of our concept,
demonstrated by their unique, individual choices for line thickness,
background shading, and the number of colored lines appearing in
the quadrants.
slope, intercepts, and graphing of linear equations. Consider this:
When designing a test on linear equations, what do we ask our
students to do? We ask them to find and identify intercepts, compute
slopes, and graph lines. Isn’t that exactly what these algebra students
were doing – but using crayons and the art of Sol LeWitt, as opposed
to a worksheet with black ink? Unquestionably, these algebra
students’ mathematical knowledge of slope, intercepts, and graphing
of linear equations was challenged, and challenged not only with
rigor, but also with vigor. By vigor, I mean this activity embodied an
intensity, an energy, and a level of spirited enthusiasm. Yet, it upheld
the rigor we expect in algebra classrooms. In fact, it was thrilling to
see