Concepts introduced in Norwegian textbooks before, during and after the New Math period

• Main Authors: Opsal, Hilde, Smestad, Bjørn
• Other Authors: Volda University College
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: New Math; textbooks in mathematics; mathematical concept; [MATH]Mathematics [math]; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03748582; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03748582/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03748582/file/TWG12_07_Opsal.pdf

International audience For a nuanced discussion on the legacy of New Math, detailed knowledge of the content of mathematics before, during and after New Math is needed. In this article, we mirror a study of Icelandic textbooks, studying at what ages certain New Math-connected concepts were introduced in 14 Norwegian textbook series for age 7-15 published in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. As was the case with Iceland, set-theoretical concepts appeared with New Math and were mostly gone by the 80s, while axioms of the number field and the study of number were to a large extent present throughout the period studied. These were introduced at an earlier age in the 70s. We find that some New Math-related concepts were introduced in textbooks before New Math entered on a full scale, unlike Iceland. Like Iceland, many other concepts were introduced in the 70s and stayed in textbooks.