CREATIVE CODING
A hands-on approach to learn math
The technology you learn today might become obsolete tomorrow. Hence, it is important to learn principles instead of just a certain programming language.
Since we are a math enrichment centre, our focus in Creative Coding is on teaching our students the timeless math principles behind computer graphics.
Students nowadays are mesmerized by the stunning visuals on their games or screens. Since computer graphics is only possible because of math, this is a good way to show our students realize the relevance of math in their daily lives.
Hence, our focus is not on teaching built-in commands where students simply type "circle" and a circle magically appears on the screen. Instead, we teach students how to program the colour of the screen pixels by writing math functions.
For example, to create a circle, our students will program the logic that decides which pixels are part of the circle and colour them differently from the background. This requires the Pythagoras Theorem.
The more math concepts they learn, the more tools they unlock to create their artwork. For example, they can use dot product to draw lines, graph transformations to create figures, trigonometry to turn their artwork from 2D to 3D, and gradient vector to add shadows, etc.
Most of these concepts are part of the H2 Math syllabus in A-levels.
We go beyond rote memorization and encourage students to truly understand what they are learning. The process of visualizing mathematical concepts through computer graphics brings abstract ideas to life and makes them more memorable and relatable.