Investigating How Prospective Mathematics Teachers Prepare History Integrated Lesson Plans with Assessing Historical Elements in Mathematics Textbooks

Abstract

It is difficult for mathematics teachers to find and utilize relevant historical content for their students. In this study, we aimed to examine how prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) evaluate the history of mathematics (HM) in curriculum resources and how they integrate the HM into lesson plans. We collected data through PMTs’ evaluation reports on the analysis of textbooks, lesson plans, and lesson plan reflections. PMTs evaluated textbooks critically, acknowledging the limits and recognizing the possibilities. They mostly provided negative evaluations and criticized the quality of HM in the textbooks. The findings revealed that PMTs’ evaluations of the analysis of HMs in textbooks served as a bridge to assist their utilization of HMs in lesson plans. When PMTs incorporated HM into their lesson plans in an effort to engage students in the learning of mathematics, the HM integration reached higher levels of cognitive demand. However, they performed less well when incorporating pedagogical instructions and student thinking. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.