ABSTRACT
The German pedagogue Friedrich Adolph Wilhelm Diesterweg (1790–1866) is well known for his political and philosophical work on the so-called “Volksbildung” (public education). However, his influence on the teaching of mathematics in his time, particularly through his textbook Praktisches Rechenbuch für Elementar- und höhere Bürger-Schulen (practical arithmetic books for elementary and secondary schools) – written together with Peter Heuser, has so far been less studied. In the three “exercise books” and in the commentaries for teachers, Diesterweg emphasized his two principles of teaching, which were based on the ideas of Pestalozzi and Schopenhauer as well as his own political philosophy: Anschauung (Visualization) and self-activity. The presentation will examine Diesterweg’s concept of mathematics education as an influential figure in the history of mathematics education in the 19th century. Therefore, his concept of visualization will be elaborated and the question of its practical implementation in his textbooks and the teacher guidelines will be explored.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bloth, H.G. (Ed.) (1958). Der Pädagoge Adolph Diesterweg. Verlag Moritz Diesterweg: Frankfurt.
Diesterweg, A. (1845). Methodisches Handbuch für den Gesammt-Unterricht im Rechnen: Als Leitfaden beim Rechenunterrichte und zur Selbstbelehrung. Büschler: Elberfeld.
Diesterweg, A. & Heuser, P. (1. Aufl. since 1828). Praktisches Rechenbuch für Elementar- und höhere Bürger-Schulen. Büschler: Elberfeld.
Fichtner, B. & Reimers, E. (Ed.) (1991). Zur Pädagogik und Didaktik Diesterwegs. Die Blaue Eule: Essen.
Lemanski, J. (2022). Schopenhauers Logikdiagramme in den Mathmatiklehrbüchern Adolph Diesterwegs. SieB, 16, pp. 101–132.
Rosenthal, C. (2022). Adolph Diesterwegs Praktische Renchenbücher – Eine didaktisch-historische Untersuchung. Bachelor Thesis, Universität Siegen.