Using Problems from the History of Mathematics in Classroom Instruction

Many teachers believe that the history of mathematics, if incorporated into school lessons, can do much to enrich its teaching. If this enrichment is just the inclusion of more factual knowledge in an already crowded curriculum, the utility and appeal of historical materials for the classroom teacher is limited. Thus to include a historical note in a student's text on the life or work of a particular mathematician may shed a historical perspective on the content, but does it actually encourage learning or illuminate the concept being taught? The benefits of this practice can be debated.