The

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

movement was an educational reform initiative in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

during the early 20th century that attempted to create a unified mathematics curriculum in

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

. The movement represented one of the earliest systematic attempts to integrate different

branches of mathematics Mathematics is a broad subject that is commonly divided in many areas or branches that may be defined by List of mathematical objects, their objects of study, by the used methods, or by both. For example, analytic number theory is a subarea of n ...

in American education.Sigurdson, S. (1962). "The development of the idea of unified mathematics in the secondary school curriculum 1890-1930." Ph.D. dissertation. University of Wisconsin.

Overview

The Chicago movement emerged in Illinois secondary schools between 1890 and 1930, advocating for an integrated approach to teaching mathematics rather than maintaining traditional divisions between subjects like

algebra Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic ope ...

and

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

. Proponents sought to demonstrate the interconnections between different mathematical topics and their practical applications.Malaty, G. (1998). "Eastern and Western mathematical education: unity, diversity and problems." ''Int. J. Math. Educ. Sci. Technol.'', 3, pp. 421-436.Malaty, G. "The Third World Mathematics Education is a Hope for the World Mathematics Education Development in the 21st Century." p. 235-240. The movement reached its peak in Illinois secondary schools during the early 20th century, where it became known specifically as the "Chicago movement" due to its concentration in that area. According to Malaty, the movement faced criticism "because it did not care about the need for continuity of studying each branch, especially geometry, as a structure" and was ultimately considered "just a temporary fashion." The primary concern of the Chicago movement was its attempt to break down the traditional compartmentalization of mathematical subjects in secondary education. Instead of teaching algebra, geometry, and other mathematical branches as separate disciplines, the movement promoted a more unified curriculum that emphasized the relationships between different mathematical concepts. The movement faced opposition from mathematics educators who argued that it undermined the systematic study of individual mathematical disciplines. Critics were particularly concerned about its impact on geometry education, contending that studying each branch as a coherent structure was essential for proper mathematical understanding. The Chicago movement was relatively short-lived, with historians describing it as a "temporary fashion" in mathematics education. However, it raised important questions about mathematics curriculum integration that would resurface during the New Math movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The fundamental question it posed—how to balance integrated mathematical understanding with systematic study of individual branches—remains relevant to contemporary discussions of mathematics education reform.

References

{{reflist Mathematics education in the United States Education reform 1890s establishments in Illinois

Overview

See also

References