integrating history of mathematics in classroom ...

INTEGRATING HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS IN CLASSROOM TEACHING: THE CASE OF USING ZU GENG’S (CAVALIER’S) PRINCIPLE Xiaoli Lu, Na Li Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong Studies have found that using history in mathematics education can provide benefits to both students’ learning and teachers’ teaching (Jankvist, 2009; Wilson and Chauvot (2000)). Thus, it is considered as a pedagogical tool for learning (Jankvist, 2009). This study provided a case which was a second year of mathematics beginning teacher in a key high school in Shanghai. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics and master’s degree in mathematics education, especially in HPM (history and pedagogy of mathematics). Through one lesson with the integration of Zu Geng’s principle (Cavalieri’s principle), the two questions were addressed: a) How history of mathematics was integrated in the case teaching? b) What was the teacher knowledge reflected in using of history in teaching? According to Jankvist (2009) and Tzanakis and Arcavi’s (2000) work, multiuse history of mathematics was shown in the case teaching. The connection between their works can be seen in the figure 1 through analysing this case.

Figure 1: Categories of approaches that used to integrate history In this case, she had developed the ideas that her teaching integrated history would provide additional benefits. Even though, she still insisted on the teacher-centred practice, which was regarded as a dominant teaching pattern in China because of the centralised curriculum system and extra pressures from the national or large scale public examinations e.g., Gaokao. References Jankvist, U. T. (2009). A categorization of the “whys” and “hows” of using history in mathematics education. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 71(3), 235-261. Tzanakis, C., & Arcavi, A. (2000). Integrating history of mathematics in the classroom: An analytic survey. In J. Fauvel, & J. van Maanen (Eds.), History in mathematics education (pp. 201–240, Chapter 7). The ICMI Study. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Wilson, P. S., & Chauvot, J. B. (2000). Who? How? What? A Strategy for Using History To Teach Mathematics. Mathematics Teacher, 93(8), 642-645. 2016. In Csíkos, C., Rausch, A., & Szitányi, J. (Eds.). Proceedings of the 40th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 1, pp. 315. Szeged, Hungary: PME. 1–315