Tools of American Mathematics Teaching, 1800–2000

Peggy Aldrich Kidwell is curator of the mathematics collections at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Amy Ackerberg-Hastings is an associate adjunct professor of history at the University of Maryland University College. David Lindsay Roberts is an adjunct professor in the Department of Developmental Mathematics at Prince George's Community College.

Each chapter is an enjoyable short story... worth having on an educator's shelf. -- Don Crossfield Convergence 2008 This book will be a crucial reference for anyone trying to understand the history of mathematics education in America. -- Fernando Gouvea American Scientist 2009 The history of mathematics education has attracted increasing numbers of researchers and consequently it has become enriched by substantive and thought-provoking works... The list of such works has been augmented with this new, exemplary study. -- Alexander Karp Teachers College Record 2009 The authors have done a heroic amount of research and have woven it into a compelling history that any educator will find illuminating. -- Jeremy Kilpatrick Science Education 2009 Educators, historians, mathematicians, or indeed anyone who has gone through public or private school in the last 200 years will enjoy this book. -- Amy Shell-Gellasch Historia Mathematica 2009 Kidwell, Ackerberg-Hastings, and Roberts deftly attend to how objects have been central to mathematical teaching in the United States -- Matt Wisnioski Technology and Culture 2009 This book is an important and comprehensive contribution to the history of mathematics education in America... It provides an interesting and engaging view of mathematics education in the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. -- Steven C. Althoen Zentralblatt Math 2009 The volume is well written and richly documented, accompanied by instructive illustrations, thanks to the authors' extensive research... This exemplary study should challenge others to analyze similar developments in classroom practice in other countries as well. -- Gert Schubring International Journal for the History of Mathematics Education 2009 The authors of this volume have provided mathematics educators and other interested parties with a wealth of information and insights into an area of mathematics education that has been largely ignored. This volume is certainly an excellent and welcomed addition to the mathematics educator's library. -- Anthony V. Piccolino British Society for the History of Mathematics Bulletin 2009 The book is quite attractive with its many pictures... It would be a nice addition to a department common room or undergraduate lounge, particularly given the format that provides a few pages of description for many different tools, making it a good book for browsing. For the serious student of the history of mathematics education or educational technology, or even the general history of mathematics, this volume provides much information unavailable elsewhere, and, because of that, I believe this is a book that belongs in your university library. -- Andrew G. Bennett Notices of the American Mathematical Society 2010 Thorough and well researched... This book is essential for anyone involved in mathematics education. -- Brenda Strassfeld Mathematics Teacher 2009 Tools of American Mathematics Teaching, 1800-2000 is a highly unusual, well-written book that will entice those who have been on either side of the lectern. -- Daniel S. Silver American Mathematical Monthly 2010

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Tools of Presentation and General Pedagogy1. Textbooks: Creating a National Standard2. The Blackboard: An Indispensable Necessity3. Standardized Tests: The Many Guises of Efficiency4. The Overhead Projector: Snapping the Class to Attention5. Teaching Machines and Programmed Instruction: A Lifeline in a Sea of StudentsPart II: Tools of Calculation6. The Abacus: Palpable Arithmetic7. The Slide Rule: Useful Instruction for Practical People8. The Cube Root Block: Teaching "Evolution" in the Schools9. Blocks, Beads, and Bars: Learning Numbers through ManipulationPart III: Tools of Measurement and Representation10. The Protractor: Acute Solutions for Obtuse Students11. Metric Teaching Apparatus: Making a Lasting Impression?12. Graph Paper: From the Railroad Survey to the Classroom13. Geometric Models: Ocular Demonstrations14. Linkages: A Peculiar FascinationPart IV: Electronic Technology and Mathematical Learning15. Calculators: From Calculating Machines to the Little Professor16. Minicomputers: Drill, Programming, and Instructional Games17. Early Microcomputers: The Lure of Novelty18. Graphing Calculators and Software Systems: The Media with a College EducationNotesIndex