Have you ever sat in math class wondering, “Will I ever use this?” At Berry College, Professor Ron Taylor shows students that math is all around us and doesn’t have to be abstract. It can be hands-on and creative, and it intersects with a variety of other disciplines in unique ways. Taylor is known for turning complex ideas into something you can actually touch.
Find out why hands-on learning matters as he encourages students to follow their curiosity, and learn more from Ron Taylor, Cook Professor of Mathematics, and recipient of the 2018 MAA Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.
If students want a concept to really stick, just listening to a lecture often isn’t enough. Research shows that when students interact with materials and apply ideas in real time, they remember more and think more deeply. That’s why hands-on learning is such a big deal in higher education. Active learning helps you become a better problem solver and creative thinker. Hands-on learning is a cornerstone of effective education and even career readiness.
Berry College has long embraced this philosophy. Ranked among the top schools for undergraduate teaching by U.S. News & World Report, Berry integrates hands-on learning into every discipline. Whether it’s nursing students applying anatomy training in a clinical rotation or graphic design students using color theory to guide composition and create mood, implementing knowledge in tangible ways can make learning come to life.
But what happens when the subject matter isn’t easily visualized or understood? For students in highly theoretical majors, it can be challenging to include hands-on learning. Many concepts don’t naturally lend themselves to physical interaction. In these instances, teachers must bridge the gap between ideas and experience, finding creative ways to transform intangible theories into something students can see, manipulate and understand.
At Berry, Taylor teaches some of the most difficult math courses on campus. But he is also known for helping students fall in love with the subject.
“When most people think of math, they just think of solving for x,” says Taylor. “But math is so much more than that. One of the things I want students to see is that math is everywhere — in card tricks and games, in puzzles, and things like juggling and origami.
Due to his interest in recreational math, his office is full of games and puzzles. But it’s not just fun. Taylor says using recreational math is a great way to promote hands-on learning. More specifically, origami can help make abstract mathematical concepts come alive for students.
Taylor explains that there are two ways to integrate math and origami:
“While I am interested in the math of origami,” says Taylor, “what I do most often in class is teaching math concepts with origami.”
Taylor gives the example of teaching his classes about fractals, infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar or look the same at different scales. But in Taylor’s classes, students actually fold an approximation of a fractal themselves as they learn about them.
“They come away with something cool and beautiful. They learn a new recreational skill that is fun, challenging and restful, and, of course, they leave the class with a concrete example of their learning,” explains Taylor.
Using origami to teach these abstract concepts, Taylor also helps students identify other examples in use. For example, he points out that some of the origami techniques are used in engineering, robotics and other places.
“Telescopes and solar panels, for example, both apply origami folding techniques in their design. Medical devices like stents, gene therapy or other surgical tools that unfold inside the body also use origami folding methods. It’s exciting to see where they find other examples, and students really appreciate seeing that some of the first models of these folding technologies were made of paper,” says Taylor.
One question Taylor seems to get frequently is how he discovered recreational math. Although his story is full of conferences and math influences, at the heart of his academic journey was the freedom to be curious, an idea he shares with his advisees.
“When advising, I remind students that if they don’t leave any room for discovery, if they come to college with a set plan, they might miss all the interesting ways to apply or use a field of study,” says Taylor, “When I’m in a math class and can see a student’s wheels turning, I encourage students saying if they have these questions, they should consider following their curiosity to deeper levels of math. Leave room for the unexpected learning and see where math can take you.”
Taylor cites Dillon Yost ’14 as an example of a student who thought he was headed into chemistry also loved his math classes. Listening to his interests, Taylor and another faculty member encouraged him toward research that combined his curiosities. He could run computer simulations on molecules using the principles of physics. Little did he know, these professors were introducing him to research that would lead to post-doctoral work at MIT, then NASA and finally the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
At Berry College, the Berry Journey curricular approach is designed to help students understand what matters most to them and bring focus when considering the possibilities for planning a future. They don't just pick majors; they set goals rooted in their strengths, interests and values, working with trusted mentors to identify a set of learning opportunities aligned with academic, personal and professional goals.
In a world where knowledge is increasingly interdisciplinary and innovation demands creativity, hands-on learning is more than a teaching method. It’s a mindset. Whether through folding paper to explore fractals or discovering unexpected career paths through curiosity-driven research, students are empowered to connect theory with practice. And in doing so, they leave Berry not only with knowledge but also with the confidence to apply it in meaningful, unexpected ways.
Want to visit Berry or learn more? Find all you need to know about Berry College here!
