Why Teach Math History?
As someone who studied and taught economics, I feel I'm not a stranger when it comes to introducing the historical background of certain concepts into the classroom. I remember during the first month of my undergraduate journey, my economics professor brought a film for us to watch in class, a film starring Russell Crowe called A Beautiful Mind, which happened to win several awards including the Golden Globe. So why did we spend an entire week's worth of classroom time watching a movie that seemed boring to most students? The reason is simple: it has historical significance, and while it's not a form of entertainment by choice, it certainly was better than listening to the professor and taking notes, so as students most of us (I'd assume) felt our attention was worth it. Besides, it was Russell Crowe.
Hence, having experienced a "history within lecture" episode myself, I am a strong advocate for integrating history within teaching, not just for mathematics, but all subjects (well, maybe except history). A film is a good place to start, especially recent ones rather than the black-and-white variant (the Alan Turing film is the first that comes to my mind), but there are many other ways to bring history into a class that as teachers we can explore and master, all of which must be engaging enough to maximize students' interest and even have residual positive effects outside the classroom (i.e. students start to ask themselves or others "why" rather than focusing on "what" they are learning this).
This brings me to this week's reading material, which also brought up the above-mentioned ideas of motivation and self-growth, as well as listing films and various other techniques or activities that are part of the math teaching repertoire. In my opinion, to integrate math history into teaching - as important and imperative as it is - requires timing as well. When students have a sufficient amount of knowledge on geometry, then introducing the history of Pythagorean Theorem with anecdotes, games or media may be a good time. On the other hand, bringing up the historical significance of a mathematical topic before students have the prerequisite understanding may confuse them further, squandering the attention they have already paid to an interaction that they expect to get something out of. This is a judgment that as teachers we have to make. One idea I really liked from the study is the use of research projects to incorporate history, which certainly is more interesting to students than constant problem solving. This also allows them to be creative, engaged and appreciative of mathematics.
Hence, having experienced a "history within lecture" episode myself, I am a strong advocate for integrating history within teaching, not just for mathematics, but all subjects (well, maybe except history). A film is a good place to start, especially recent ones rather than the black-and-white variant (the Alan Turing film is the first that comes to my mind), but there are many other ways to bring history into a class that as teachers we can explore and master, all of which must be engaging enough to maximize students' interest and even have residual positive effects outside the classroom (i.e. students start to ask themselves or others "why" rather than focusing on "what" they are learning this).
This brings me to this week's reading material, which also brought up the above-mentioned ideas of motivation and self-growth, as well as listing films and various other techniques or activities that are part of the math teaching repertoire. In my opinion, to integrate math history into teaching - as important and imperative as it is - requires timing as well. When students have a sufficient amount of knowledge on geometry, then introducing the history of Pythagorean Theorem with anecdotes, games or media may be a good time. On the other hand, bringing up the historical significance of a mathematical topic before students have the prerequisite understanding may confuse them further, squandering the attention they have already paid to an interaction that they expect to get something out of. This is a judgment that as teachers we have to make. One idea I really liked from the study is the use of research projects to incorporate history, which certainly is more interesting to students than constant problem solving. This also allows them to be creative, engaged and appreciative of mathematics.
Hi, Jackson! I think it is really important for an educator to be excited about the materials and show enthusiasm in class, and I can see your enthusiasm about this topic jumping out of the monitor :) It is a nice thing that you mentioned how it is useful to wait until students gain basic mathematical knowledge (e.g. Geometry) to have more fun in math history activities (e.g. historical contexts of the Pythagorean Theorem). That way, it becomes easier for students to understand the logical reasoning behind the process of coming up with the new math idea. Also, it feels more natural for us educators, to cover some extra materials because it is more likely that students will stay engaged and interested. Can't wait to discuss in class about the reading! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Jackson -- and Hope! Jackson, I'm not entirely convinced that watching A Beautiful Mind was truly relevant to your Economics class (although it is an excellent movie, and Russell Crowe...) but I do feel your enthusiasm at finding ways to incorporate math history in your classes.
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