Polya's Problem Solving Strategy in Trigonometry: An Analysis of Students' Difficulties in Problem Solving

摘要

This study is focused on investigating errors made by students and the various causal factors in working on trigonometry problems by applying sine and cosine rules. Samples were taken randomly from high school students. Data were collected in two ways, namely a written test that was referred to Polya's strategy and interviews with students who made mistakes. Students' errors were analyzed with the Newman concept. The results show that all types of errors occurred with a distribution of 3.83, 19.15, 24.74, 24.89 and 27.39% for reading errors (RE), comprehension error (CE), transformation errors (TE), process skill errors (PSE), and encoding errors (EE), respectively. The RE, CE, TE, PSE, and EE are marked by errors in reading symbols or important information, misunderstanding information and not understanding what is known and questioned, cannot change problems into mathematical models and also incorrectly use signs in arithmetic operations, student inaccuracies in the process of answering and also their lack of understanding in fraction operations, and the inability to deduce answers, respectively. An anomaly occurs because it turns out students who have medium trigonometry achievements make more mistakes than students who have low achievement.