Using history to develop students' images of mathematics

摘要

Quite understandably mathematics education is primarilyconcerned with teaching the mathematics the studentshave to learn, and equally understandably research inmathematics education is concerned with the ways in which thestudents do or do not learn this mathematics. However, whilebeing taught and learning mathematics, students also form theirown images of what mathematics is: e.g. how it works; where itcomes from; why it's there; for what and where it can be used; aswell as why they need to be taught and learn it. So, besides themathematical skills the students develop and take with themfrom their mathematics education, they also carry with thempersonal images of what this thing called mathematics is.