I gave a talk in tandem with Jason Yip at 2025’s Research in Progress (RiP) event by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM). Jason and I had met at the previous year’s RiP event and realised we had similar research interests. This led to us devising a research project together, briefly described in the abstract included below, which we completed during the last half term of 2024. Our talk at RiP introduced the project and discussed some of our findings, and was titled Using History as a Pedagogical Tool for Enhancing Affective Development and Academic Performance in Year 7 and 8 Mathematics Classrooms.
Abstracts for all talks at RiP 2025 are available in the event’s Book of Abstracts, but ours (slightly edited) is included here:
This research explores the pedagogical potential of incorporating themes from the history of mathematics into early secondary mathematics education. Conducted at a Secondary School in Milton Keynes, it examines the effect of historical perspectives on students’ affective domains — including motivation, attitude, and anxiety — and academic achievement.
Jason, a PhD candidate from Middlesex University, and Tom [that’s me] coproduced and team-taught a half-term’s worth of lessons to two mixed-ability classes: one in year 7, one in year 8. Lessons followed the department’s standard scheme of work; the only difference was that the researchers explicitly incorporated topic-relevant historical content into each lesson. The endeavour aimed to create a more dynamic learning environment, demonstrating the interconnectedness of mathematics with human activities and reflecting students’ life experiences. The study also sought to enrich moral education by presenting mathematics as a collective achievement of diverse cultures and civilisations, fostering a broader appreciation of the subject.
The experiment spanned the first academic term of 2024/25, employing mixed-methods approaches to data collection including surveys, assessments, and ethnographic observations. Their analysis will help determine the extent to which historical content enhances students’ emotional engagement and academic attainment.
Ultimately, this research will contribute to the emerging field of the history and pedagogy of mathematics, offering insights into how historical narratives can transform mathematics education. If successful, this approach may serve as a model for integrating history not only into mathematics classrooms but also into other STEM disciplines, enriching affective and cognitive dimensions of student learning.
The project was very interesting and the results are still being analysed. I hope to be able to share a more detailed report here in the future. The talk seemed to go down well as we had some really interesting questions in the period set aside for them immediately after the talk, and we both had a steady stream of people making comments and asking questions throughout the rest of the day.