From Calculus to Computers: Using the Last 200 Years of Mathematics History in the Classroom

Using the history of mathematics enhances the teaching and learning of mathematics. To date, much of the literature prepared on the topic of integrating mathematics history in undergraduate teaching contains, predominantly, ideas from the 18th century and earlier. This volume focuses on 19th and 20th century mathematics, building on the earlier efforts but emphasizing recent history in the teaching of mathematics, computer science, and related disciplines. "From Calculus to Computers" is a resource for undergraduate teachers that provide ideas and materials for immediate adoption in the classroom and proven examples to motivate innovation by the reader. Contributions to this volume are from historians of mathematics and college mathematics instructors with years of experience and expertise in these subjects. Among the topics included are: projects with significant historical content successfully used in a numerical analysis course, a discussion of the role of probability in undergraduate statistics courses, integration of the history of mathematics in undergraduate geometry instruction, to include non-Euclidean geometries, the evolution of mathematics education and teacher preparation over the past two centuries, the use of a seminal paper by Cayley to motivate student learning in an abstract algebra course, the integration of the history of logic and programming into computer science courses, and ideas on how to implement history into any class and how to develop history of mathematics courses.