Assignment 1 Reflection

Looking back at assignment 1, there were a few things I found particularly interesting while researching this assignment.

Firstly, I found it really interesting that the "As I Was Going to St. Ives" is actually a word problem that dates back thousands of years ago. This word problem was solved by Ahmes through his Rhind Papyrus, and then later circulated again during Fibonacci's time! I find it fascinating that this answer had appeared almost 30 centuries later, and we still know it today! It is really neat to think about how long knowledge can stay and translate into our current societal contexts. 

Another thing I found really interesting was exploring this ancient Egyptian method of multiplication. I remember Susan going over this method in class, and I really loved how simple it was to understand, and definitely can foresee this being a really useful alternative method for students that have trouble learning multiplication/division. 

Upon our research, a really interesting takeaway was the use of the Abacus to execute arithmetic. It was really neat to learn about this ancient European method, and that it is still actually used today in some countries! The difference in teaching techniques that ultimately results in the same outcome is fascinating to me, as there are many alternatives! I would never have imagined as a young student learning mathematics that there are so many different ways to learn, so it is really interesting to think about how these methods have been taught in the past, and how we can employ these alternatives to assist our youth in learning today.