Learning and teaching symmetry by creating ceramic panels with Escher type tessellations

Elliot Eisner (1933-2014), a pioneer in arts education, suggested that an artistic approach to education could improve its quality and lead to a new vision for teaching and learning. This is true for any subject, including mathematics. Some topics of the mathematics school curriculum make a perfect setting for a deeper contribution of art to education and allow for a complete symbiosis between the teaching of mathematics and an artistic education. One such topic is the study of symmetry and isometry, present throughout the school mathematics curriculum from elementary to secondary levels. We believe that the learning and teaching of symmetry and isometry can be greatly facilitated by taking the role of an artist and creating works of art, eventually inspired by renowned artists. In this paper, we present some results of a professional development course for mathematics teachers where the participants created ceramic panels using the same techniques as the Dutch artist M.C. Escher did in his tessellation drawings.