Walk like a Mathematician: An example of Authentic Education

A child learns walking at the age of one. Later on walking goes naturally and most people do not give it much thought anymore, even though it is an interesting periodic motion from mathematical and biomechanical point of view. The fact is, every person walks differently and can do this in various ways: normal walking, jogging, running, skipping, tiptoeing, etc. Gait analysis deals with a scientific description of human locomotion. Video measurement is a much-used tool in the empirical research work of movement scientists. We have created learning materials for pupils in upper pre-university education to investigate human movement in the same style as biomechanists do. The pupils record video clips of their own ways of walking, e.g., on a treadmill in a fitness centre, and they use the computer learning environment Coach for measuring these movies and analysing the collected data. They apply their knowledge of mathematics and science to answer research questions like “When does normal walking move into running?” and “How does your body motion change at various gait speeds?”. We shall discuss the video technology, our learning material, and our experiences. In this way we hope and expect to present an inspiring example of how ICT and context situations can contribute to the realization of challenging, cross-disciplinary investigation tasks that resemble professional research practice.