Learn from the Masters!Frank Swetz This book is for high school and college teachers who want to know how they can use the history of mathematics as a pedagogical tool to help their students construct their own knowledge of mathematics. Often, a historical development of a particular topic is the best way to present a mathematical topic, but teachers may not have the time to do the research needed to present the material. This book provides its readers with historical ideas and insights which can be immediately applied in the classroom. The book is divided into two sections: the first on the use of history in high school mathematics, and the second on its use in university mathematics. The articles are diverse, covering fields such as trigonometry, mathematical modeling, calculus, linear algebra, vector analysis, and celestial mechanics. Also included are articles of a somewhat philosophical nature, which give general ideas on why history should be used in teaching and how it can be used in various special kinds of courses. Each article contains a bibliography to guide the reader to further reading on the subject. |
Contents
Preface | 1 |
Revisiting the History of Logarithms | 39 |
Trigonometry Comes Out of the Shadows | 57 |
The Trajectory of a Cannonball | 93 |
History in Higher Mathematics | 103 |
Learning from History | 161 |
Historical Thoughts on Infinite Numbers | 181 |
Wessel on Vectors | 207 |
Toward the Definition of an Abstract Ring | 241 |
An Episode in the History of Celestial Mechanics | 267 |
A Topics Course in Mathematics | 283 |
A Tribute | 297 |
Other editions - View all
Learn from the Masters Frank Swetz,John Fauvel,Otto Bekken,Bengt Johansson,Victor Katz Limited preview - 1995 |
Learn from the Masters Frank Swetz,John Fauvel,Otto Bekken,Bengt Johansson,Victor Katz Limited preview - 1995 |
Common terms and phrases
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