Exploring ninth graders' reasoning skills in proving congruent triangles in Ethusini circuit, KwaZulu-Natal Province

Abstract

Euclidean Geometry is a challenging topic for most of the learners in the secondary schools. A qualitative case study explores the reasoning skills of ninth graders in the proving of congruent triangles in their natural environment. A class of thirty-two learners was conveniently selected to participate in the classroom observations. Two groups of six learners each were purposefully selected from the same class of thirty-two learners to participate in focus group interviews. The teaching documents were analysed. The Van Hiele’s levels of geometric thinking were used to reflect on the reasoning skills of the learners. The findings show that the majority of the learners operated at level 2 of Van Hiele’s geometric thinking. The use of visual aids in the teaching of geometry is important. About 30% of the learners were still operating at level 1 of Van Hiele theory. The analysed books showed that investigation help learners to discover the intended knowledge on their own. Learners need quality experience in order to move from a lower to a higher level of Van Hiele’s geometry thinking levels. The study brings about unique findings which may not be generalised. The results can only provide an insight into the reasoning skills of ninth graders in proving of congruent triangles. I recommend that future researchers should focus on proving of congruent triangles with a bigger sample of learners from different environmental settings.