Abstract Book of the 9th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education
Year: 2025
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Representations of Euclidean Geometry Tasks in Secondary School Mathematics Textbooks
Ugorji Ogbonnaya, Tinevimbo Zhou
ABSTRACT:
Task representations play a crucial role in mathematics teaching and learning, enabling students to develop a deeper understanding and form meaningful connections among concepts. Representation refers to how problems or situations are presented, including the context, data, and task. Effective use of different representation forms enhances students’ ability to interpret, understand, and communicate mathematical ideas, making representation a key element in mathematics education. This qualitative case study explores how Euclidean geometry tasks are represented in nine secondary school mathematics textbook series. It examines the extent to which these textbooks provide opportunities for learning through varied task representations. The analysis was guided by Zhu and Fan’s theoretical framework, which classifies problem types based on four representational forms: pure mathematical, verbal, visual, and combined representations. Findings show a predominance of combined representations in Euclidean geometry tasks, while the other three forms—pure mathematical, verbal-only, and visual-only—were noticeably limited. This imbalance suggests a need for more diverse representation types to support comprehensive learning. The study highlights the importance of incorporating diverse representations in textbook design and teaching practice. Its insights contribute to curriculum development, instructional strategies, and further research in mathematics education.
Keywords: Mathematical representations; Opportunity to Learn; Task representation; Textbook Analysis