Our first reading: Why teach math history?
Pre Reading thoughts: I think we should teach Math history to a certain extent. I would do it by topic. For example, when we are learning area/perimeter, I may go over the history of pi with my students. My initial thought is if we are spending too much time on the history of pi, we will have less time for the actual Math material.
The first thing that catches my attention is that Math is perceived as part of the western culture. However, the history of Math allows us to become more aware of less known cultures. This not only allows students to learn Math, the teaching extends to other subjects like history, geography and social studies.
The second thing is “shortcut” hand method of doing multiplication of two numbers between 6 and 10. It is through these interesting little tricks that trigger students’ interest in Math. As a teacher candidate, I will definitely be implementing these in my lesson plans.
Finally, I agree with the idea of implementing the history of Mathematics in school to a certain extent. The history of Math is so rich that it gives us a lot of Math problems to work with during classes. This can also show students that history is not just names and dates. It can be very fun too!
Yes, I agree that math history has to be balanced with other factors in a regular math class, but there is much of interest here that may engage students more deeply in math!
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