Using Podcasts to Enhance Mathematics Instruction

On Podcast Pickle I was able to find a lot of really interesting podcasts when I searched the word “mathematics”. One of particular interest was called “math mutations” and was dedicated to all of the “weird” applications of mathematics that kids (and adults) do not often think about. I listened to several of them- one of the most interesting of which was about the nature of doodling. The narrator (Erik) talked about how the patterns you doodle really do have some mathematical basis (even the abstract ones). He does on to talk about cubic numbers and the exponents behind simple dot drawings. I think that this could be very useful and interesting to secondary mathematics students- not only because of the novelty of the podcast but because of the nature of his discussions. There were other equally interesting podcasts on the same website that are worth checking out including the math behind fractals, debts, the lottery and even pi day. I think this is a really useful resource for math teachers. You can access this podcast by clicking on the link below.

Math Mutations