Using History To Teach Mathematics. An International Perspective

This book is a collection of articles by international specialists in the history of mathematics and its use in teaching, based on presentations given at an international conference in 1996. Although the articles vary in technical or educational level and in the level of generality, they show how and why an understanding of the history of mathematics is necessary for informed teaching of various subjects in the mathematics curriculum, both at secondary and at university levels. Many of the articles can serve teachers directly as the basis of classroom lessons, while others will give teachers plenty to think about in designing courses or entire curricula. For example, there are articles dealing with the teaching of geometry and quadratic equations to high school students, of linear algebra, combinatorics, and geometry to university students, and of the notion of pi at various levels. But there is also an article showing how to use historical problems in various courses and one dealing with mathematical anomalies and their classroom use. Although the primary focus or subject of the book is the teaching of mathematics through its history, some of the articles deal more directly with topics in the history of mathematics not usually found in textbooks. These articles will give teachers valuable background. They include one on the background of Mesopotamian mathematics by one of the world's experts in this field, one on the development of mathematics in Latin America by a mathematician who has done much primary research in this little known field, and another on the development of mathematics in Portugal, a country whose mathematical accomplishments are little known. Finally, an article on the reasons for studying mathematics in Medieval Islam will give all teachers food for thought when they discuss similar questions, while a short play which covers the work of Augustus DeMorgan will help teachers provide an outlet for their class thespians.