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Notes for a history of the teaching of algebra

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Resumo:Abundant literature is available on the history of algebra. However, the history of the teaching of algebra is largely unwritten, and as such, this chapter essentially constitutes some notes that are intended to be useful for future research on this subject. As well as the scarcity of the works published on the topic, there is the added difficulty of drawing the line between the teaching of algebra and the teaching of arithmetic—two branches of knowledge whose borders have varied over time (today one can consider the arithmetic with the four operations and their algorithms and properties taught in schools as nothing more than a small chapter of algebra). As such, we will be very brief in talking about the more distant epochs, from which we have some mathematics documents but little information on how they were used in teaching. We aim to be more explicit as we travel forwards into the different epochs until modern times. We finish, naturally, with some reflections on the present-day and future situation regarding the teaching of algebra.
Autores principais:Ponte, João Pedro da
Outros Autores:Guimarães, Henrique Manuel
Assunto:Teaching of Algebra History of mathematics
Ano:2014
País:Portugal
Tipo de documento:capítulo de livro
Tipo de acesso:acesso aberto
Instituição associada:Universidade de Lisboa
Idioma:inglês
Origem:Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa
Descrição
Resumo:Abundant literature is available on the history of algebra. However, the history of the teaching of algebra is largely unwritten, and as such, this chapter essentially constitutes some notes that are intended to be useful for future research on this subject. As well as the scarcity of the works published on the topic, there is the added difficulty of drawing the line between the teaching of algebra and the teaching of arithmetic—two branches of knowledge whose borders have varied over time (today one can consider the arithmetic with the four operations and their algorithms and properties taught in schools as nothing more than a small chapter of algebra). As such, we will be very brief in talking about the more distant epochs, from which we have some mathematics documents but little information on how they were used in teaching. We aim to be more explicit as we travel forwards into the different epochs until modern times. We finish, naturally, with some reflections on the present-day and future situation regarding the teaching of algebra.