As the writer of the first series of mathematics texts in English, Robert Recorde clearly holds a special place in the history of mathematics education in England. Yet it can be argued that Recorde should be recognised for yet another reason: that he was the first mathematics educator. Not only did Recorde teach mathematics, but his writings show clearly – both implicitly and explicitly – that he had also given serious consideration to the problems of learning and teaching mathematics.

THE MAN AND HIS TIMES

Robert Recorde [1] was born in Tenby, Wales, about 1512. That his exact date of birth is not known is regrettably typical, for there are many details of Recorde's life and career that are lacking. It is also significant that the sole piece of information we have concerning Recorde's age should be the result of a political trial [2]. The times in which Recorde lived were indeed turbulent ones, and the various political and religious struggles {3} affected both his personal well-being and his plans for publishing mathematical texts.

The first stages of the Reformation took place whilst Recorde was a student at Oxford. He graduated BA there in 1531 and was the same year elected a Fellow of All Souls' College, a graduate foundation for the study of theology, law and medicine. Clearly, Recorde must have devoted considerable time to the study of the last named, for, according to the Cambridge records, he had been licensed in medicine at Oxford about 1533.