PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 1)
2013
Denver, Colorado
Students’ Emerging Understandings of the Polar Coordinate System
Page: 1-366
The polar coordinate system (PCS) arises in a multitude of contexts in undergraduate mathematics. Yet, there is a limited body of research investigating students’ understandings of the PCS. In this report, we discuss findings from a teaching experiment that explored pre-service teachers’ developing understandings of the PCS. We specifically identify several issues that arose spontaneously as we worked with the students. For instance, we illustrate how students’ angle measure meanings influenced their construction of the PCS. We also discuss ways in which the students’ understandings of the Cartesian coordinate system (CCS) became problematic as they transitioned to the PCS. As an example, mathematical differences between the polar pole and Cartesian origin perturbed some students. Collectively, our findings highlight the emergent nature of students’ coordinate systems.