Crafting Connections in Post-COVID Classrooms: Learning University Mathematics through Craft

In 2020, after New Zealand emerged from its short-lived lockdown and students returned to university campuses, mathematicians Jeanette McLeod and Phil Wilson from the University of Canterbury taught a final-year mathematics course using craft. A part of most lectures included a hands-on craft activity to explore a key concept and to foster curiosity. This article describes the design and delivery of the course and reflects on the overwhelmingly positive student feedback. We suggest that the creation of, and interaction with, mathematical craft objects played a significant role in shaping these responses by generating feelings of engagement, reducing stress, and allowing tangible access to mathematical ideas.