Students unleash practical side of Spherical Trigonometry

Marine Engineering students recently leveraged their knowledge of spherical trigonometry (specifically Napier's rule) to calculate the distance between two coordinates on a sphere to better understand navigation during the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) workshop.

In this interactive session, the students learned how to use TurtleStitch to devise an algorithm. Once established, the algorithm was deconstructed to make sense of the mathematics involved and then re-constructed to understand the building blocks of algorithms.

Lecturer, Dr Ekaterina Rzyankina, said the students' expertise will be passed on to other students they support in the nautical science programme. Rzyankina said it was the first time that AIMS applied TurtleStitch to higher education mathematics.

"The AIMS visit not only emphasised the significance of interdisciplinary education between mathematics and engineering but also underscored the innovative prowess of our budding marine engineers. Seeing the students take charge during the session was a testament to our continent's remarkable potential and talent," she observed.

The collaboration was made possible by Rzyankina and Dr Frikkie George, who play pivotal roles in STEM education at CPUT, and Dr Sinobia Kenny from AIMS. Rzyankina added: "We didn't just talk theory. We brought it to life through cutting-edge technology, integrating coding and a stitching machine to tangibly demonstrate these complex mathematical concepts. It was inspiring to see the engagement, and it sparked curiosity among the students as they saw the practical applications of their studies unfold right before their eyes."

Kenny stated: "With younger learners, I've tried teaching the innovative TurtleStitch first and then the mathematics but, this time, with final-year undergraduate students, we started with the mathematics and then constructed algorithms."

Also, see Rzyankina's blog at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7193337883674431488/