Types of Students' Errors in Tangent: Effect of Technology

Abstract

Many studies identify trigonometry as a challenging topic for teachers, preservice teachers, and students. Understanding these challenges is essential for educators to develop effective strategies. Borasi (1987) emphasized that learners’ errors can be used to identify learning challenges and guide remediation. This study aims to explore students' challenges in learning the concept of tangent, the types of errors they make, and the impact of technology interventions, particularly Python programming, on their learning outcomes. This study utilized the Categories of Errors defined by Movshovitz-Hadar et al. (1987) to analyze 10th-grade students' errors before and after the intervention. The results showed that the number of technical errors significantly reduced after the intervention. Also, this study provides a qualitative analysis of the common mistakes students make when answering tangent-related questions.