PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Student responses to instruction in rational trigonometry
Page: 151
In this paper I discuss an investigation on students’ responses to lessons in Wildberger’s (2005a) rational trigonometry. First I detail background information on students’ struggles with trigonometry and its roots in the history of trigonometry. After detailing what rational trigonometry is and what other mathematicians think of it I describe a pre-interview, intervention, post interview experiment. In this study two students go through clinical interviews pertaining to solving triangles before and after instruction in rational trigonometry. The findings of this study show potential benefits of students studying rational trigonometry but also highlight potential detriments to the material.