Educational Implications of the History and Philosophy of Science and Mathematics

This international doctoral course will focus on the utilization of historical and philosophical scholarship to inform science and mathematics education. This research tradition has been pioneered by the IHPST community and published in the journal Science & Education. During the course, several case studies from different disciplines will be presented and their educational implications will be discussed. These episodes shall inspire the participants to conduct similar analysis with the specific topics of their research.

As a result of attending the course, you will:

  • Get acquainted with the research tradition that investigates educational uses of history and philosophy of science and mathematics (including journals, societies, conferences);
  • Analyze current teaching materials critically from a historical and philosophical perspective;
  • Structure a scientific paper that deals with educational implications of history and philosophy;
  • Compare the original formulations of scientific theories with the modern way of teaching specific science and mathematics topics and reflect about pros and cons of the "didactic transformation".

Teaching and Learning Methods

Historical and philosophical case studies from science and mathematics will be presented by the course lecturers and invited speakers. Following the presentations, the students will discuss the educational implications with presenters.

Prior to the course, participants will be required to read reference texts and submit a 1-page synopsis of their own research, indicating how their work relates with history and philosophy of science and mathematics. During the course, the students will continue to develop their ideas and will have the opportunity to receive feedback from the course teachers and guest professors.