WebQuest

Blast from the Past: Historical Mathematicians
Teacher Page

A WebQuest for grades 6-12 (Mathematics)

Introduction

The origin of this WebQuest is from three different lesson plans by Eldred Marshall, Kara Orosco, and Sue Shostrand. Mr. Marshall's lesson plan is originally a treasure hunt where students had to complete a worksheet by using the resources he listed to identify mathematicians and scientists. Ms. Orosco's lesson plan originally is a cooperative learning project where the students used the Internet to learn more about a particular mathematician and creatively present what each group discovered to the class. Ms. Shostrand's lesson plan is considered a web-bit (lesson that includes a little bit of the web). I modified their lesson plans by combining all of their ideas to help formulate this WebQuest.

The students are introduced with a scenario that explains that the History Channel has asked the students to create a segment for their television show dedicated to historical mathematicians that influenced the field of geometry and have to the end of the week to complete it so the History Channel can air it the following week. The Producers give the students the following question (the guiding question) to answer when creating their segment, "Who were the notable mathematicians that made important contributions to geometry and how do they influence us today?"

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Learners

This lesson is anchored in a high school geometry class and involves social studies and language arts to a lesser extent. This lesson can easily be extended to additional grades and subjects.

Students will need to be able to locate information using the Internet, have adequate research skills, and be familiarized with public speaking skills.

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Curriculum Standards

Mathematics Standards Addressed according to NCTM and Ohio Standards

create a timeline to organize and record mathematical ideas
recognize mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics
analyze the mathematical thinking and strategies of one historical mathematician
communicate mathematical ideas orally with a clear purpose

Technology Standards Addressed according to ISTE Standards

locate and interpret mathematical information accurately using the Internet
practice responsible use of copyrighted information and graphics

Process

It will take about a week to complete the WebQuest for 40-55 minute class periods. It may take less time with block scheduling, so you may need to adjust how many days you want to work on this lesson to fit your schedule.

I designed this WebQuest for students to work with partners, however, it can also be done individually. If you decide to have the students work in pairs, you might want to group them according to how familiar they are navigating on the Internet (group a student that is very knowledgeable to one that needs assistance).

Part I. Scavenger Hunt

              1. Print off two copies of these questions (a copy for you and
                  your partner).
              2. Select 8 mathematicians from the ones listed.
              3. Use the following websites to find the full name,
                  nationality, birth date and date of death, and the important
                  discoveries/mathematical concepts for each mathematician
                  that you chose. Record your answers on the sheet you
                  printed off.

             Resources
             Mathematicians
             http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/BiogIndex.html
             http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/l/list-of-geometers.html

             Women Mathematicians
            http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.html
             http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/sciencemath1/

Part II. Visualizing the Past

              1. After completing your scavenger hunt, you and your partner
                  will organize the information by creating a timeline.
              2. List the mathematicians in chronological order, as they
                  would appear on your timeline.
              3. Search the Internet for a picture of each mathematician and
                  also an image that is associated with the mathematician's
                  discovery. Be sure to credit and cite where you obtain your
                  pictures.
              4. Create your timeline on a piece of poster board making sure
                  that all your information and pictures fit.

Resource
Do an image search using google.

Part III. Getting to Know You

             1. From the list of 8 mathematicians you chose, select one.
             2. Print off two copies of these questions.
             3. Learn more about this mathematician by answering these
                 questions.
             4. Use the following websites to help you answer the
                 questions.

             Resources
             Mathematicians
             http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/BiogIndex.html
             http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/l/list-of-geometers.html

            Women Mathematicians
            http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.html
             http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/sciencemath1/

Part IV. One-on-one with the Mathematician

             1. For your television segment, you and your partner are going
                 to conduct a mock interview with the mathematician you
                 chose.
             2. First you need to decide which one of you is going to be the
                 mathematician and who is going to be the questioner.
             3. Refer to the website listed below for sample questions to
                 ask the mathematician. You may also come up with your
                 own questions.
             4. Before conducting your interview, make sure you know
                 enough about the mathematician's background. You may
                 need to do further research.
             5. The interview should be approximately 5-7 minutes.

             Resource
            The Biography Maker-Gives tips on writing biographies which
            also can be useful in forming interview questions.

You may need to advise your students on how to develop a script for conducting an interview if they have not received that information previously.

Variations

This WebQuest can be more or less viewed as a template for different topics of mathematics (calculus, algebra, statistics, ect.). The scavenger hunt will need to be rewritten to focus on the new topic, the selection of mathematicians would have to be those that contributed to the topic, and the links might need to be reconsidered.

Another variation could be to have the students write biographies about the mathematician instead of conducting mock interviews.

Resources Needed

This lesson can be implemented with one teacher. Below is a list of the resources needed to implement this lesson:

computers with Internet access and connected to a printer
poster board for each group
markers, glue, other supplies for creating a timeline

Instead of using poster board for the timeline, an alternative would be for students to use a software program, such as Inspiration or Kidspiration to create their timeline.

Websites:

These two websites have information on several mathematicians.

These two websites have information specifically on women mathematicians.

Evaluation

Each group's work will be evaluated according to the following rubric. There is a total of 40 points, so your score will be doubled.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Locate and interpret mathematical information accurately	0-2 questions about mathematicians on the scavenger hunt were correct.	3-4 questions about mathematicians on the scavenger hunt were correct.	5-6 questions about mathematicians on the scavenger hunt were correct.	7-8 questions about mathematicians on the scavenger hunt were correct.
Create a timeline to organize and record mathematical ideas	The timeline is not neatly organized, unreadable, and inaccurate.	The timeline reflects 2 of the 3 criteria: neatly organized, readable, accurate.	The timeline reflects 2 of the 3 criteria: neatly organized, readable, accurate.	The timeline is neatly organized, readable, and accurate.
Recognize mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics	Does not describe any of the three questions: how the mathematician's concepts are used today, if the student has ever used the concept, and how the concepts impact the world.	Describes one of the three questions.	Describes two of the three questions.	Clearly describes all three questions.
Analyze the mathematical thinking and strategies of one historical mathematician	States the mathematician's discoveries/ mathematical concepts	Generally explains the mathematician's discoveries/ concepts.	Describes how the mathematician discovered the concept.	Fully explains the procedure (proof) of the concept.
Communicate mathematical ideas orally with a clear purpose	Does not clearly present any of the requirements: timeline, research one historical mathematician, and an interview.	Presents one of the three requirements clearly.	Presents two of the three requirements clearly.	Thoroughly presents all three requirements clearly.

Conclusion

This lesson is designed so that students will learn about how key mathematicians influenced mathematics as it is today and how mathematics has progressed from historical times. Students should also realize that individuals and society are able to make advancements by overcoming adversity and working together for a common goal.

Credits & References

The image of the collage of mathematicians is from
http://students.bath.ac.uk/ma2ac/infinity.html.

I modified lesson plans by Eldred Marshall, Karla Orosco, and Sue Shostrand. I obtained written permission from Mr. Marshall and Ms. Orosco to use their original lessons, however, I searched on the Internet for Ms. Shostrand's email address but could not locate it.

Last updated on November 13, 2004. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page