Teaching Math Through Solving Rubik’s Cubes

Teaching Math Through Solving Rubik’s Cubes

by Head of Community Engagement Gordon Mathis

When did you learn to solve a Rubik’s Cube?

In the fourth grade, all students learn to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Math teachers Jennifer Salerno and Sue Frankel intentionally introduce the Rubik’s Cube at the beginning of the year to teach perseverance and encourage a growth mindset. The students learn that everyone has a hard time solving the puzzle and they meet the challenge through tenacity. 

Students learn to follow directions and learn patience. They learn to be comfortable with discomfort, and they learn impulse control. They learn visual and spatial awareness - and their faces light up with success and pride when they reach a new level or solve the Rubik’s Cube. Learning to persevere, being comfortable with a difficult process, acknowledging that everyone gets “stuck” sometimes - these are all lessons crucial to mathematics.

Online, Mrs. Salerno works with the twelve continuous learning students. She holds the Rubik’s Cube under a document camera to demonstrate the moves to the students at home. These students can make individual appointments with her to work on their “Rubik’s technique.” Mrs. Frankel works with three cohorts of on-campus students; they devote 10 to 15 minutes of math class to working on their Rubik’s Cubes. All students - at home and on campus - are learning the same lessons at the same time. 

But there’s more! Using solved Rubik’s Cubes, students will create a mosaic. Using the six solid colors of the Rubik’s Cubes, they design a geometric picture a la Mondrian, taught last year by art integration specialist Peggy Benkeser, using coordinate axes. To celebrate the school’s Fiftieth Anniversary, the class created a mosaic of the face of Elliott Galloway using 522 cubes. There are plans afoot to design another large image this year - stay tuned!