Learning Congruent Triangles through Ethnomathematics: The Case of Students with Difficulties in Mathematics

• Main Authors: Juhaina Awawdeh Shahbari, Wajeeh Daher
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: congruence; congruent triangles; ethnomathematics; Islamic ornamentation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/14/4950

Ethnomathematics makes school mathematics more relevant and meaningful for students. The current research aims to study the effect of using ethnomathematics in the context of Islamic ornamentation on learning the topic of congruent triangles. To achieve this aim, 30 10th-grade students engaged in ethnomathematics by learning about congruent triangles using Islamic ornamentation. Data was gathered via (a) videotaping and transcribing students’ learning and (b) students answering two parallel questionnaires that included proof questions on the three congruence theorems. The students were required to answer one questionnaire before the learning process and one after it. The main results indicated that the students succeeded in constructing the concepts of congruence and congruent triangles via the ethnomathematics learning process. In addition, the students succeeded in arriving at and formulating the three congruence theorems. Moreover, findings obtained from the questionnaires indicated that the students improved their proving processes as a result of ethnomathematics-based learning. Furthermore, paired sample t-tests indicated significant differences between the students’ mean scores before and after the learning process.