Information For Authors

Prospective authors may consider submitting under the following categories:

Primary Source Projects (PSPs)

Primary Source Projects (PSPs) are the signature works published in the Annals.

A PSP that is to be published in the Annals shall adhere to the following vital elements:

A TRIUMPHS PSP…

  1. Teaches standard topics in a mathematics course via primary historical sources.
  2. Contains primary sources that drive student engagement with the central mathematical ideas in the PSP.  It is vital that at least some tasks following each Primary Source excerpt can be completed only by engaging with that source.
  3. Is historically faithful; care should be taken to discuss primary sources in the context (mathematical and societal) in which they were written. The primary goal of a PSP is to use history to teach mathematics, not to teach its history.
  4. Uses English translations of primary sources not authored in English.
  5. Includes an introductory section to identify the most important PSP goals for students, and notify what the student may expect as she works through the PSP.
  6. Contains a summary of the historical context of the primary sources included in the PSP.
  7. Makes use of commentary by the PSP author to serve as the glue between the primary source and the mathematical goals, and which guides the student towards the pedagogical content goals.
  8. Includes tasks -- these should be primarily mathematical -- that assist student exploration of the content of the primary text under consideration to build the underlying mathematical concepts. At least some tasks should be exploratory in nature, in the style of “inquiry-based learning”.
  9. Employs appropriate segues and connections between excerpts of texts and/or (clusters of) tasks to ease student navigation through the PSP.
  10. Includes a concluding section to wrap up student engagement with the PSP and to suggest pointers for further reading and study.
  11. Includes references to primary and secondary sources (and, when relevant, translations).
  12. Appends a “Notes to Instructor” section which provides a guide to instructors who implement the PSP in their classrooms. This should include:
    • the goals of the project;
    • prerequisite knowledge assumed of the student;
    • appropriate advice to instructors on implementing the PSP;
    • a sample implementation schedule;
    • ideas for modifying the project for circumstances other than those for which the project was designed;
    • historical background for the instructor beyond what is in the PSP; and
    • (if appropriate) an acknowledgements section. 

Articles

The Annals publish research articles and general scholarship on the use of primary historical sources in teaching and learning mathematics.  These may include but are not limited to:

1. Scholarship related to the development or use of Primary Source Projects (PSPs):

  • Articles focused on the content/theme of a specific PSP (or group of related PSPs) that provides historical context that goes beyond what appears in the PSP in a way that could enrich its implementation.
  • Analyses of some particular features of PSPs (e.g., primary sources, student tasks, historical background, pedagogical approaches) across a group of several projects.
  • An empirical article in mathematics education based on data collected from implementations of PSPs.

2. Scholarship grounded in teaching with primary historical sources but not explicitly or necessarily focused on PSPs:

  • Descriptions of how teaching with primary sources has impacted one’s instructional practice/philosophy and/or students’ learning experience in more general ways.
  • Discussions of the inherent challenges and hidden benefits of teaching with primary sources or developing materials based on these sources, and general lessons to be learned through encounters with these challenges or benefits.
  • Articles that examine primary sources and their use from the perspective of some particular theory of learning or other relevant framework.

Other Submissions

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