A Content Analysis Study about the Usage of History of Mathematics in Textbooks in Turkey

Mehmet Eren; Mehmet Bulut; Neslihan Bulut

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a

Full Text (PDF)

Mehmet Eren ¹ ^* , Mehmet Bulut ¹, Neslihan Bulut ¹

More Detail

¹ Gazi University, TURKEY^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate how history of mathematics was integrated to some mathematics textbooks in Turkey. On this account, four different textbooks with different grade levels were chosen. In total, 42 cases were detected and studied by three researchers. Results indicated that the usage of history of mathematics was materialized in six different manners: giving mathematics a human face, showing how concepts have developed, developing a multicultural approach, explaining the roles of mathematics in society, changing the perceptions of mathematics and providing opportunities for investigation. Among these manners, it is observed that giving mathematics a human face is the most frequent manner, while the least apparent one is providing opportunities for investigation.

Keywords

history of mathematics
mathematics education
mathematics textbooks

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 11, Issue 1, 2015, 53-62

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a

Publication date: 16 Dec 2015

Article Views: 2344

Article Downloads: 1195

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Aydın, N., Camus, A., & Biberoğlu, B. (2011). 11th Grade Geometry Textbook. Ankara: Aydın Yayıncılık, TURKEY
Bakker, A., & Gravemeijer, K. P. E. (2006). An historical phenomenology of mean and median. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 62, 149–168
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Erbaş, A., K., Alacacı, C & Bulut, M. (2012). A comparison of mathematics textbooks from Turkey, Singapore, and The United States of America. Educational Consultancy and Research Center, 12(3), 2325-2329.
Ernest, P. (1988). The history of mathematics in the classroom. Mathematics in School, 27(4), 25-31.
Fan, L., & Kaeley, G. S. (2000). The influence of textbooks on teaching strategies: an empirical study. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 13(4), 2-9.
Fauvel, J. (1991). Using history in mathematics education. For the Learning of Mathematics, 11(2), 3-6.
Fenton, P., C. (2002). History of mathematics in mathematics: what is the point of it? The Mathematical Gazette, 86(506), 254-257.
Fried, M. N. (2001).Can mathematics and history of mathematics coexist? Science & Education, 10, 391-408.
Furinghetti, F. (2007). Teacher education through the history of mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 66, 131-143.
Göğün, Y. (2007). 6 th Grade Mathematics Textbook. Ankara: Özgün Yayıncılık, TURKEY.
Güler, S., & Yücelyiğit, S. (2010). 8 th Grade Mathematics Textbook. Ankara: Hayalgücü Yayıncılık, TURKEY.
Heiede, T. (1992). Why teach history of mathematics? The mathematical Gazette, 76, 151-157.
İnci, İ. (2007). 7 th Grade Mathematics Textbook. Ankara: Evrensel İletişim Yayınları, TURKEY.
Jankvist, U., T. (2009). A categorization of the “whys” and “hows” of using history in mathematics education. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 71, 235-261.
Katz, V., J. (1993). Using the history of calculus to teach calculus. Science & Education, 2, 243–249.
Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Li, Y., Chen, X., & Kulm, G. (2009). Mathematics teachers’ practices and thinking in lesson plan development: a case of teaching fraction division. ZDM- The International Journal of Mathematics Education, 41(6), 717-731.
Li, Y., Zhang, J., & Ma, T. (2009). Approaches and practices in developing school mathematics textbooks in China. ZDM- The International Journal of Mathematics Education, 41, 733-748.
Miller, C., C. (2002). Teaching history of mathematics: a trial by fire. Primus: Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, 12(4), 334-346.
Partington, G. (1980).The idea of historical education. NEFER Publishing Co.
Russ, S., Ransom, P., Perkins, P., Arcavi, A., Barbin, E., Brown, G., & Fowler, D. (1991). The experience of history in mathematics education. For the Learning of Mathematics, 11(2), 7-16.
Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (2001). Methodological issues in the content analysis of computer conference transcripts. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 12(1), 8-22.
Strijbos, J-W., Martens, R. L., Prins, F. J., & Jochems, W. M. G. (2006). Content analysis: What are they talking about? Computers & Education, 46(1), 29-48.
Tyson, H., & Woodward. A. (1989). Why students aren’t learning very much from textbooks. Educational Leardership, 47(3), 14-17.
Thomaidis, Y., & Tzanakis, C. (2007). The notion of historical “parallelism” revesited: historical evolution and students’ conception of the order relation on the number line. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 66, 165- 183.
Thomas, R. S. D. (2002). Mathematics and narratives. The Mathematical Intelligencer, 24(3), 43-46.
Törnross, J. (2005). Mathematics textbooks, opportunity to learn and student achievement. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 31, 315-327.
Weber, R. P. (1990). Basic content analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage.
Weinberg, A., & Wiesner, E. (2011). Understanding mathematics textbooks through reader-oriented theory. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 76(1), 49-63.
Weng Kin, H. (March, 2008). Using history of mathematics in the teaching and learning of mathematics in Singapore. Paper presented at the 1st Raffles International Conference on Education, Singapore.
White, M., D. & Marsh, E., E. (2006). Content analysis: a flexible methodology. Library Trends, 55(1), 22-4.

How to cite this article

APA

Eren, M., Bulut, M., & Bulut, N. (2015). A Content Analysis Study about the Usage of History of Mathematics in Textbooks in Turkey. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(1), 53-62. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a

Vancouver

Eren M, Bulut M, Bulut N. A Content Analysis Study about the Usage of History of Mathematics in Textbooks in Turkey. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(1):53-62. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a

AMA

Eren M, Bulut M, Bulut N. A Content Analysis Study about the Usage of History of Mathematics in Textbooks in Turkey. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(1), 53-62. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a

Chicago

Eren, Mehmet, Mehmet Bulut, and Neslihan Bulut. "A Content Analysis Study about the Usage of History of Mathematics in Textbooks in Turkey". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2015 11 no. 1 (2015): 53-62. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a

Harvard

Eren, M., Bulut, M., and Bulut, N. (2015). A Content Analysis Study about the Usage of History of Mathematics in Textbooks in Turkey. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(1), pp. 53-62. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a

MLA

Eren, Mehmet et al. "A Content Analysis Study about the Usage of History of Mathematics in Textbooks in Turkey". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 11, no. 1, 2015, pp. 53-62. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1305a