In Tzanakis and Arcavi’s chapter titled “Integrating History
of Mathematics in the Classroom: An Analytic Survey” an argument is given as to
why history of mathematics should be integrated in mathematics education. They do this by listing objections to
this integration and then counter these objections by exploring ways in which
this integration is beneficial. They
then give an explanation for how this integration can actually happen, and give
many applicable examples from a variety of resources to close the chapter.
It is only fair for me to disclose that I am a huge
advocate of incorporating history of mathematics into mathematics
education. I do not believe that
history should be the main focus, but I think there is great value in using
history as an engagement tool.
That being said, I have taken two history of mathematics classes (one in
my undergrad degree at the University of Georgia and one at UBC in my masters
program), and there have been people in both of those classes who do not agree with
using history of mathematics in their classrooms. Two of the main concerns they mention are that there are no
resources for teachers to use and there is already such a time constraint to
teach the prescribed material, so how could they possibly incorporate outside
material. I think that these
concerns are primarily due to lack of expertise in the area of history of
mathematics. This reading
mentioned how one of the objections against history of mathematics was just
that – teachers lack expertise in the history of mathematics, and that this stems from the lack
of appropriate teacher education programs. What might help this issue is making a history of mathematics course a requirement.
Another thing that is mentioned several times in this
reading is the nature of mathematics.
The authors say that by incorporating history of mathematics into the
classroom, student can see that real humans discovered and struggled with the
same concepts many years ago. This is an interesting
topic for me because we have talked a lot about the nature of mathematics in
our Monday night class.
Lastly, I would like to share a link to a youtube
video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZHYE8lOIe4
This was for a project I did in the history of math class I took in my
undergrad. Just thought I should
share! :)
On your comment on teachers lacking expertise in the history of mathematics, I agree to a point. There is a wealth of information available; however, I think that the nomenclature around some of the topics covered and the ways in which they were discovered can't be determined simply from brainstorming. Let me explain: In a discussion after class last Wednesday, Professor Gerofsky brought up the notion of "Napier's bones", which were rods used for calculation of logarithms. Now, had she not mentioned these two words together, especially "bones", it would not have come across my mind that they even existed as a resource. I would say that the disconnect between the wealth of knowledge on cultural mathematics (if I may be so bold as to call it that) and teacher resources needs to be fixed. I do think that the history of math courses are a good start for new and returning teachers. What about for current/practicing teachers? Could a professional development session help remedy that? I can't be sure; teachers can be just as poor learners in classes (such as in Pro-D) as some students. I am no exception.
ReplyDeleteStruggling with a topic... I don't hide that from my students. I'll openly say that I found something challenging or that I made a mistake. I'll share that I found undergrad difficult, or that I memorized my way through high school math. And why not? Confusion, frustration, ripping your hair out - this is all part of the process (I find). When students say that they hate math, I have started asking if they're involved in sports (most recently, a student replied that she was involved in dancing). I asked her if she learned to dance perfectly on the first day of dance lessons (and, no, she didn't). Turning mathematics out of a characteristic and back into a learnable trait is also super important for mathematical pedagogy. History of mathematics helps us with this.
First: Keri, thank you SO much for sharing :):):):)
ReplyDeleteSecond: I am firmly behind any lesson that can help get the message out that math success is not reserved for only the brightest. I love that math history can be one such strategy. Yes, there is further material for teachers to learn, something that many might balk at, but part of what I have learned in my reading about this topic is that an integrated approach, where the math is learned through history, can aid in depth of understanding, as opposed to separate lessons on the topic. That said, my main thesis for my short paper was that I had learned some history of science in my education, but had no recollection of ANY history of math in all my years of schooling. If science teachers can incorporate history into their subject, what is to stop a math teacher? They are each teachers, sometimes of both topics.