Connections: Math History as a Teaching Learning Tool

Table Of Contents

Connections! Math History as a Teaching and Learning Tool

Introduction

Background Information for Teachers

Number Systems and Number Patterns

Introduction

This is the second publication in our Connections series, which identifies resources that not only support math teaching but also illustrate connections to other subjects in the middle school curriculum. The first publication in the series connected math to social studies, art, and science.

How does history fit into the math curriculum? Not, we believe, as an extra unit, but as context that enhances the standard curriculum. Students find it hard to believe that mathematics is a human endeavor — created and invented by real people to solve real problems. Teaching how such mathematical ideas as numerals and number systems, scale and measurement, geometry and probability developed over time presents the material on a wider stage and goes a long way to explaining its relevance.

The resources featured here can deepen student understanding as well as enrich classroom teaching of topics covered at the middle school level. The Connections Standard of the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics is the overall linkage among the resources. The resources are grouped in sections aligned with the content standards of Number and Operations, Measurement, Geometry, and Data Analysis and Probability.

The section on Number Systems and Number Patterns concentrates on counting systems invented by various cultures as well as patterns found in Pascal’s famous triangle. Measurement considers the discovery of pi, the invention of standard measures, and the history of measuring the Earth’s circumference.

The Geometry section offers activities that deal with the properties of solids, especially important to the ancient Greeks and, later, to Renaissance Europeans. Students can also view a proof of the Pythagorean theorem from the ancient Chinese, and discover the Pythagorean relationship themselves through interactive exercises. Probability includes the story of its development as a formal study in mathematics. This section also focuses on Pascal’s triangle, used in probability to count all possible combinations.

For more connections to the middle school curriculum, please see Connections! Linking Mathematics to Social Studies, Art, and Science, the earlier publication in this series.

We hope the resources in these publications open your classes to a wider view of mathematics!

by Terese Herrera

Terry Herrera taught math several years at middle and high school levels, then earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education. She is a resource specialist for the Middle School Portal. Please email any comments to: msp@msteacher.org

There's More! You'll know when new math or science publications are posted on the NSDL Middle School Portal by requesting free email notices at http://msteacher.org/registration.aspx. Don't forget to browse the Math Pathway every once in a while to find a wealth of resources for your teaching.

Copyright January 2008 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.