DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS HISTORY

Overview

The Mathematics Department has a rich history of impacting learners.  These learners included PreK-12th graders, college students meeting their field experience requirements, teachers across the state of Iowa attending workshops and conferences, and educators throughout the nation reading professional journals and articles written by the school’s teachers. Many students across the country were taught from textbooks and supplementary materials created by the mathematics teachers. 

After presenting a brief description of the school and "The Early Years" of its math program from 1883-1949, this history of the Math Department is reported by decades from the 1950s through the 2000s. The three responsibilities of faculty members—Teaching, Publications, and Service—are used to organize the material. 

By the Decades

Beginning with the 1950s, each decade opens with an Introduction that summarizes significant events that influenced mathematics education. The mathematics faculty were responsive to and often leaders in national education organizations and reform movements. The history of the decades from the 1970s on are more in depth since many of the faculty from those decades were able to supply data and describe their direct involvement in all of the activities of the MPLS Mathematics Department.

The Teaching section provides a summary of the mathematics curricula during the decade, how courses were taught and how learning was assessed.

The Publication section illustrates the productivity of the faculty during the decades. Noteworthy in these sections are the many authors who were asked to be recurring contributors to refereed journals or became authors of mathematics textbook series.

Service, a responsibility of all faculty members to their profession, is the focus of the third section of this history. To summarize this role, the Archives of the Rod Library became the main source for information. When faculty vitas could be found, they included a listing of conferences, conventions, and other speaking engagements. These opportunities to share were of great service because of the credibility of the faculty. They were in the classroom and could share successes and failures in the language of a classroom teacher. 

The final segments of the History of the Mathematics Department are Conclusions and Reflections. Throughout the decades, this department was distinguished by having nationally known leaders as faculty members. Conclusions and Reflections demonstrate how collaborating and sharing enriched the professional lives of all.