| Popis: |
The question of why the influence of the cyphering tradition on school mathematics in North America fell away, so quickly, between 1840 and 1861 is considered. Three reasons are given: first, the introduction, in the 1840s, of externally-set written examinations in mathematics meant that no longer were cyphering books regarded as the most important evidence in relation to teaching and learning efficiency; second, normal schools spread rapidly after 1840, and those who were trained in the normal schools were taught that teaching and learning methods based on the cyphering tradition were hopelessly inadequate; and, third, education administrators, such as Horace Mann, placed pressure on schools to adopt whole-class methods of teaching mathematics, in which the teacher played a much more active role than ever before. |
