The History of the Geometry Curriculum in the United States (PB)

A volume in Research in Mathematics EducationSeries Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of MississippiThis volume investigates the evolution of the geometry curriculum in the United Statesover the past 150 years. A primary goal is to increase awareness of the nature of the currentgeometry curriculum by investigating the historical, mathematical and pedagogicalinfluences that it has sustained since its inception.Given the limited access to first-hand accounts of the enacted geometry curriculum duringthe past 150 years, the book relies on textbooks to provide a record of the implementedcurriculum at any given point in time and on policy documents and journalarticles to provide insight into the prevalent issues and arguments of the day.The book is organized in a chronological sequence of 'notable events' leading to discernable changes in thinking about thegeometry curriculum over the past century and a half-roughly the extent of time during which geometry has been taughtin American schools. Notable events include important reports or commissions, influential texts, new schools of thought,and developments in learning technologies. These events affected, among other things: content and aims of the geometrycurriculum; the nature of mathematical activity as construed by both mathematicians and mathematics educators; and, theresources students are given for engaging in mathematical activity. Before embarking through the notable events, it is necessaryto consider the 'big bang' of geometry, namely the moment in time thatshaped the future life of the geometry curriculum. This corresponds to the emergenceof Euclidean geometry. Given its influence on the shape of the geometry curriculum,familiarity with the nature of the geometry articulated in Euclid’s Elements is essentialto understanding the many tensions that surround the school geometry curriculum.Several themes emerge over the course of the monograph, and include: the aimsand means of the geometry curriculum, the importance of proof in geometry, the roleof visualization and tactile experiences, the fusion between solid and plane geometry,the curricular connections between geometry and algebra, and the use of motionand continuity.The intended audience would include curriculum developers, researchers, teachers,and curriculum supervisors.