Students' use of multiple solution strategies to find the angle between two intersecting and non-perpendicular lines

Abstract

This paper reports a study on students' use of three solution strategies in learning to find the angle between two intersecting and non-perpendicular straight lines. The study sought to investigate whether low-performing Grade 12 students' use of multiple solution strategies had an effect on their test scores in finding the angle between two intersecting non-perpendicular lines. Seventeen low-performing students from a secondary school in a Province in South Africa participated in the study. A repeated measures research design approach was employed and data were collected using an achievement test. Quantitative analysis of results using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (RM ANOVA) indicated significant differences in students' scores due to the strategies used. We therefore recommend that students be exposed to multiple solution strategies to finding the angle between two lines.