Using History in Teaching Algebra at the Teachers College

The background of this thesis is the changes in the
curricula of the educational system in Norway at the
end of the previous century, especially emphasising
the education in mathematics at Teachers Colleges in
1993. History of mathematics is part of the
curriculum in the teacher education program and I
have chosen algebra as a mathematical topic to teach
the history of mathematics to the student teachers.
The goal is to give the students both historical
knowledge and enhances their mathematical knowledge.
First I give a theoretical background for different
ways of using the history of mathematics as a
guideline in the teaching of mathematics. In specific
the historical expressions of algebra are explained
as well as problems connected to teaching the concept
of algebra as it is used in Norwegian schools today.
I have chosen to describe some parts of the
development of algebra through different epochs and
from different sources in history. A set of problems
based on historical sources was composed and given to
student teachers that solved the problems and gave
their comments about their experiences from this work.