What’s the Big Idea? CEP 818 Patterning Definition and examples Patterning consists of forming patterns. But in order to form patterns, one must be able to identify them. So, the first step in patterning is recognizing existing patterns in every day objects. Patterns are repeated forms that can help understand more complex forms. Identifying patterns has proven crucial across disciplines. It is so universal that scientists and artists think alike when identifying patterns. When Fourier announced his well-know mathematical series, he didn’t think of it from a mathematical perspective. He noticed that any complex pattern can be seen as the juxtaposition of a number of less complex patterns.
The signal at the bottom may look complex, but it’s simply the combination of 2 much less complex signals.
Forming new patterns follows the identification of existing patterns. A natural tendency for pattern seekers is to think up new patterns that can yield new discoveries. Forming patterns provides invaluable answers in science (and other fields as well). Moiré patterns are a good example of this. As seen below, overlaying two similar grids results in a periodic pattern that helps study the characteristics of graphene sheets.
Moiré grids slightly askew reveal interesting facts about grapheme sheets.
Created by: Jean-Claude Aura
Date: October 2010
Page 1
What’s the Big Idea? CEP 818 Impact on my own personal life I naturally see patterns everywhere. I may not have known that I was identifying patterns, but I’ve always found this activity to be fun. Now that I’m doing it with an awareness of its usefulness, I can think of many situations where recognizing patterns has come in handy. I’ve always had recourse to identifying patterns to solve personal issues. For example, I can tell when it’s time to change the tyres on my car by looking for the particular pattern that betrays wear and tear. I can also tell what some people (friends, students, even my wife) may do next by recognizing a behavioral pattern. For instance, when a student sulks, comes in late for class, and starts fidgeting, I know they’re about to either drop or fail a course. How is this useful? Well, in the case of my car, I can avoid potential accidents as I travel long distances and having tyres in good condition is a must. In the case of a student’s unconventional behavior, I can remedy the situation so that they don’t turn out to have wasted valuable time and money on a course they’re about to drop or fail. When it comes to forming new patterns, I find this fun and useful. Fun because I relieve my mind from a day’s stressful events, and useful because I can indulge in artistic activities such as mirror engraving. Impact on my ability to teach creatively Identifying patterns is a key element in my teaching. For example, I always urge my students to look for syntactic patterns, such as question formation. Once they realize that a modal verb or auxiliary starts a question, they can start making questions flawlessly and easily. If students are to become quick learners (and eventually independent learners), they need to understand that identifying linguistic patterns speeds and eases the learning process. Forming new patterns proves to be necessary in creative writing. While it’s true that students are exposed to existing patterns at the start of the writing process, they can’t go very far if they don’t make creative writing a subjective task. This can’t be achieved by simply imitating other writers’ styles; they have to twist things a bit (while remaining within the frame of linguistic correctness) to add a personal touch to their piece of writing.
Created by: Jean-Claude Aura
Date: October 2010
Page 2