Using History to Enhance Student Learning and Attitudes in Singapore Mathematics Classrooms

Numerous researchers have pointed to the potential benefits of providing students with a relevant historical context when introducing new mathematics concepts. This paper discusses the ways in which this approach may be applied to enhance student learning and attitudes in Singapore mathematics classrooms. While evidence on the efficacy of this approach remains limited, studies to date suggest that students who confront new mathematics concepts within a meaningful historical context will develop more positive attitudes toward the subject matter. Using history in mathematics teaching is likely also to help students recognise interrelationships between the disparate concepts to which they are introduced, and thus develop a more integrated view of the field as a whole. Relevant classroom activities, based on the Singapore junior college mathematics curriculum, are outlined.