History of mathematics as a factor

Abstract

In this paper the authors consider the role of history of mathematics and some historical dataas a factor for encouraging interest and motivation of students to study mathematics. History of mathematics has a lot of questions, examples, and problems which can be adapted to cater for contemporary teaching and to become a direct support for content that needs to be processed, determined and deepened. Well-presented historical examples can have great importance in supporting mathematical and didactical meaning. The starting point in this paper is that “old” tasks preserved on the earliest memorials of mathematics, the anecdotes of great mathematicians and the ways of solving tasks can serve as a special kind of motivation for students’ learning of mathematics because they introduce a special spirit and motive for solving such tasks and problems.