Institute in the History of Mathematics and its Use in Teaching

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In the mathematics reform of the past decade, there has been growing recognition that the history of mathematics should be an integral part of the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels. Mathematicians who teach the history of mathematics and who use this history to improve their teaching are in need of more knowledge and resources to prepare to teach their students. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) will continue the successful Institute in the History of Mathematics and its Use in Teaching (IHMT) the goal of which is to increase the presence of history in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. At the same time the IHMT will target teacher preparation programs developing materials for use in K-12 classrooms and materials for use in teacher preparation programs. Faculty involved in teacher preparation will be important participants in the IHMT. Through an ongoing year-round program of activities which include intensive two-week programs in one summer with a follow-up week in the successive summer for mathematics faculty new to the use of history; a two-week program each summer for faculty with experience in the use of history; a vigorous email discussion group together with the 80 participants in the original institute; supervised research by IHMT alumni; new participants will be prepared to teach courses in the history of mathematics and to use history to improve their teaching of standard undergraduate mathematics courses, especially teacher preparation courses; experienced faculty will publish materials to assist all faculty in introducing history. Fifteen historians of mathematics, all of whom are known to be excellent teachers, will lead explorations of the history of mathematics from antiquity through the twentieth-century, stressing applications and links between different areas of mathematics. Specific techniques for incorporating history into undergraduate mathematics courses will be a central theme. Through presentations at national and regional ma thematics meetings, publications, and electronic communications, the information and techniques of IHMT will be disseminated nationally making changes in the teaching of mathematics.