The other day I renewed my membership to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. I got a chance to explore the archives. I discovered the archives contain copies of journals dating back to 1908. Yes, you read that right, 1908.The first issue of the Mathematics Teacher appeared in 1908 and was 44 pages in length. One of the things in the magazine has not changed in all this time.
Under the article "What should be the aims in teaching Algebra and how to attain them." One of the first comments is this:
"The first and most essential aim must be to enlist the interest of the pupil in the subject to the end that he will put forth per-sistent effort in its mastery."
This sounds like teaching the student persistence so they work their way through the problems rather than giving out. Later in the same article, the author made these statements.
" From the nature of the subject there are three special aims that may well claim the attention of the teacher:
I. To increase the pupil's knowledge of mathematical short-hand.
2. To increase the pupil's knowledge of truth, mathematical truth, in preparing him for future work in college and technical schools.
3· To establish in the mind of the pupil the firm belief that he can of himself distinguish truth from error and to see to it that he forms the habit of proving all things.
Although the language is archaic, at least two of the goals are the same as today. One is for the student can obtain a solid understanding of math so they do well in college and the other is that he can find his mistakes and is able to prove his work to be correct. I'm n to sure what mathematical short-hand is but I'm thinking it means he has a good understanding of processes and methods of using symbols.
With in the article "The aims of teaching geometry", the author states the teacher " becomes better acquainted with his pupils and their individual peculiarities of mind. He learns what their difficulties really are, and hence can aid them more intelligently." This sounds like something I got told years ago about getting to know your students well so you can notice where they are having problems before being able to help them.
There is a complete article devoted to the importance of getting students to check their work. The author indicates that it is important to have students check their work regularly and for the teacher to hold the students responsible for carrying out the checks. By having students check their work, it helps increase accuracy of work and makes students feel better knowing they got the answers correct.
Many of the articles are actually summaries of papers read at the annual meeting but not all. I had fun reading all these articles because they reflect the language and attitudes of the time but it was fascinating to see these authors stating things we are still discussing today such as persistence.
Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.
2. To increase the pupil's knowledge of truth, mathematical truth, in preparing him for future work in college and technical schools.
3· To establish in the mind of the pupil the firm belief that he can of himself distinguish truth from error and to see to it that he forms the habit of proving all things.
Although the language is archaic, at least two of the goals are the same as today. One is for the student can obtain a solid understanding of math so they do well in college and the other is that he can find his mistakes and is able to prove his work to be correct. I'm n to sure what mathematical short-hand is but I'm thinking it means he has a good understanding of processes and methods of using symbols.
With in the article "The aims of teaching geometry", the author states the teacher " becomes better acquainted with his pupils and their individual peculiarities of mind. He learns what their difficulties really are, and hence can aid them more intelligently." This sounds like something I got told years ago about getting to know your students well so you can notice where they are having problems before being able to help them.
There is a complete article devoted to the importance of getting students to check their work. The author indicates that it is important to have students check their work regularly and for the teacher to hold the students responsible for carrying out the checks. By having students check their work, it helps increase accuracy of work and makes students feel better knowing they got the answers correct.
Many of the articles are actually summaries of papers read at the annual meeting but not all. I had fun reading all these articles because they reflect the language and attitudes of the time but it was fascinating to see these authors stating things we are still discussing today such as persistence.
Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.
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