A Dash of History with your Lesson?
Leo Rogers claims that all too often the history of mathematics is sidelined when topics are taught. Some topics are richer than others, of course, but similar triangles and unit fractions are discussed here to get you thinking.
Mathematics has a history
Leo Rogers provides an overview of why and how to use the history of mathematics in the teaching of mathematics in the upper primary and secondary curriculum.
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What’s the use of history? A example
Leo Rogers talks about work of Thomas Digges. Digges used a series of similar triangles when surveying land prior to the building of Dover Harbour in the late 16th century.
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Egyptian fractions in the marketplace
Here, in another example Leo describes how the Egyptians used unit fractions (1⁄2, 1⁄3, 1⁄4 etc.) to perform complete complex fractions when doing arithmetic.
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Leo Rogers
Leo, although retired, is currently a research fellow in mathematics education at the University of Oxford. He would like to hear from teachers who are interested in helping to develop materials in the history of mathematics for use in the classroom. He invites you to email him at Leo.Rogers@education.ox.ac.uk but do include your name and school address.
Read an interview with Leo Rogers talking about the relationship between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics.
