A Discussion And Experiment On Incorporating History Into The Mathematics Classroom

Abstract

As a high school algebra teacher continuing as a student in a Master’s of Mathematics Program, the author decided with the help of an advisor to see what effect incorporating history had on an Algebra II Honors course. The following paper includes a brief review of research, analysis of ways to incorporate history of mathematics into the classroom, examples of methods used in the classroom, and the effect this had on student and teacher learning and attitudes.

Interdisciplinary Mathematics Education: A State of the Art

“…It may even potentially transcend the disciplines involved, even if only momentarily. Similarly, other subjects may be brought in to the mathematics classroom, such as history (Bellomo and Wertheimer 2010), literacy (Bintz et al 2011) or social justice (Bond and Chernoff 2015). Again, although a disciplinary structure remains clear in such cases, the potential exists to vary from being mathematically distinct and mono-disciplinary (e.g.…”

Interdisciplinarity in Teacher Education: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of an Educational Innovation Project

“…Many of these studies are related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) projects, which have been proliferated by the huge interest that international education policies have in preparing students for an advanced society, from a scientific and technological point of view. In these interdisciplinary projects in which active methodologies such as Project Based Learning (PBL) are the common thread, Mathematics is combined with other subjects for distinct purposes: (a) to improve Mathematics learning [18,[32][33][34]; (b) to improve learning of the other subject [16,19] or (c) to achieve a truly integrated approach [13][14][15]17,24,35,36].…”

Matematik Tarihinin Derslerde ve Ders Kitaplarında Kullanımına İlişkin Öğretmen Görüşleri

“…Matematik tarihinin derslerde kullanımının matematik öğretimi üzerindeki olumlu etkilerine rağmen, derslerinde matematik tarihinden faydalanan öğretmenlerin sayısının oldukça az olduğuna dikkat çekilmektedir (Lit vd., 2001;Siu, 2007;Weng Kin, 2008). Matematik tarihinin derslerde kullanımını olumsuz olarak etkileyen faktörler; merkezi sınav baskısı (Clark, 2011;Horton, 2011;Panasuk & Horton, 2012), ders kitaplarındaki tarihsel bölümlerdeki eksiklikler Bellomo & Wertheimer, 2010;Mersin & Durmuş, 2018;Thomaidis & Tzanakis, 2009;Xenofontos & Papadopoulos, 2015;Weng Kin, 2008), zamanı yetiştirmedeki zorluklar (Clark, 2011;Faustmann, 2010;Horton, 2011;Panasuk & Horton, 2012;Siu, 2007;Weng Kin, 2008), bazı öğrencilerin seviyelerinin verilecek bilgiyi anlamak için yeterli olmayışı (Clark, 2008;Siu, 2007) ve iş yükünün artması (Carter, 2006) şeklinde belirtilmiştir. Öğretmenlerin matematik tarihini derslerine entegre etme konusunda bilgi ve deneyim eksikliğinden kaynaklı zorluk yaşamaları (Barbin vd., 2000;Gazit, 2013;Horton, 2011;Lit & Wong, 1999;Panasuk & Horton, 2012;Siu, 2007;Smestad, 2000;Weng Kin, 2008) ve matematik dersi ile matematik tarihi arasındaki ilişkiyi kurmakta zayıf olmaları (Clark, 2011;Siu, 2007) da matematik tarihinin derslerde kullanımı olumsuz yönde etkileyen faktörler olarak açıklanmıştır.…”