2019 WCGTC World Conference

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16 The Rubik's Cube: A Unique Twist in STEAM Gifted Education

The Rubik’s Cube, invented by Ernö Rubik in 1974, continues to spark creativity and curiosity across the world. Through a lending library program, it is possible for educators to borrow Rubik’s Cubes not only to promote STE(A)M (science, technology, engineering, (arts,) and mathematics) education in any mathematics classroom, but to inspire pupils to solve the Cube quickly by practicing algorithms and pattern recognition. This independent project specifically evaluated the Rubik’s Cube on its effectiveness in building students’ self-confidence, enhancing classroom camaraderie, and promoting problem solving and critical-thinking skills over two, five-week elective courses at an alternative high school in Colorado during the 2017-2018 school year.

Author(s):

Dan Van der Vieren
dvandyv@gmail.com

United States

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Dan Van der Vieren is a graduate mathematics student at the University of Northern Colorado and is in his sixth year teaching at the secondary level. He serves as an Ambassador for the organization, “You CAN Do The Rubik’s Cube,” which he has contributed writing the 4x4 Rubik’s Cube solution manual. In 2017, Dan taught two, five-week electives utilizing the Rubik’s Cube in the classroom to construct mosaics. He shared his success through an article in UKEd Magazine, a presentation at TEDxBoulder 2018, and speaking at the CCTM and AMTNJ conferences in 2018 and the NCTM conference in 2019.

 



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