Teaching the Quadrivium : A Guide for Instructors

Peter Ulrickson

ISBN 10: 1949822346 / ISBN 13: 9781949822342

Published by Catholic University Of America Press Mär 2023, 2023

About this Item

Neuware - Reviving an educational tradition involves a double task. A new generation of students must be taught, and at the same time the teachers themselves must learn. This book addresses the teachers who seek to hand on the quadrivium-the four mathematical liberal arts of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy-at the same time as they acquire it.

Seller Inventory # 9781949822342

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Teaching the Quadrivium : A Guide for Instructors
• Publisher: Catholic University Of America Press Mär 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1949822346
• ISBN 13: 9781949822342
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 196W x 129H x 10D millimeters 196 millimeters width by 129 millimeters height by 10 millimeters depth
• Weight: 176 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Reviving an educational tradition involves a double task. A new generation of students must be taught, and at the same time the teachers themselves must learn. This book addresses the teachers who seek to hand on the quadrivium-the four mathematical liberal arts of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy-at the same time as they acquire it.

Two components run in parallel throughout the book. The first component is practical. Weekly overviews and daily lesson plans explain how to complete the study of A Brief Quadrivium in the course of a single school year, and suggestions for weekly assessments make it easy to plan tests and monitor student progress. The second component is directed to the continuing education of the teacher. Short essays explore the history, philosophy, and practice of mathematics. The themes of these essays are coordinated with the simultaneous mathematical work being done by students, allowing the teacher to instruct more reflectively.

Some users of this book are confident in their grasp of mathematics and natural science. For them, the essays will clarify the unity of mathematical activity over time and reveal the old roots of new developments. Other users of this book, including some parents who school their children at home, find mathematics intimidating. The clear structure of the lesson plans, and the support of the companion essays, give them the confidence to lead students through a demanding but doable course of study.

The British mathematician John Edensor Littlewood remarked that one finds in the ancient mathematicians not "clever schoolboys" but rather "Fellows of another College." This guide invites all teachers of the quadrivium to join the enduring mathematical culture of Littlewood and his predecessors, and to witness for themselves the significance and vitality of a tradition as old as Pythagoras.

About the Author

Peter Ulrickson is assistant professor of mathematics at The Catholic University of America.