A Different Tangent to

Teaching Trigonometry

Professor James L. McClelland

A DIFFERENT TANGENT TO
TEACHING TRIGONOMETRY
Learning trigonometry is a challenge for many high-school students,
impeding their access to careers in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics. Dr James McClelland, a professor of cognitive
science at Stanford University, California, has been working to make
higher-level mathematics concepts accessible to as many people
as possible by assessing the effectiveness of a different approach to
learning trigonometry at high-school.

The Vital Role of Mathematics The National Mathematics Advisory

Education Panel has often highlighted the need
for educators in the US to find new
A good grasp of higher-level ways of enhancing mathematics
mathematics is often key to success and science training for high-school
in most careers related to science, students, as this would increase their
technology, engineering, and chances of securing STEM-related
mathematics (STEM). Mathematics is industry, government, research and
a central part of most scientific education positions.
disciplines – as it provides methods to
analyse data or build computational Dr James McClelland, professor ‘We are interested in opening up the
tools, both of which are principal and director of the Center for Mind, world of higher-level mathematical
aspects of scientific practice. Brain, and Computation at Stanford ideas to as many people as possible,’
University, has been developing and explains Dr McClelland. ‘These are the
The fields of technology and science testing a different approach to teaching ideas that scientists use to describe
are developing at a progressively higher-level mathematics concepts. Dr the physical world, enabling the
faster pace, increasing the need for McClelland hopes to identify effective technologies that have changed our
qualified and competent professionals ways of making complex mathematical world over the last three centuries
to cover a wide range of STEM-related concepts meaningful and accessible to and allowing innovations in medicine,
positions. Delivering high-quality a greater number of people. physics, and computation that have
science and mathematics education transformed our society.’
to high-school students is therefore Stanford’s Trig Academy Platform
of crucial importance, to ensure that The overreaching goal of his work is
young generations are well-equipped Dr McClelland’s research explores the to make mathematics meaningful to
to pursue further studies and careers in role of a visuospatial representation all students – not just the few who
science and engineering. grounded on mathematical concepts somehow ‘get’ what mathematics is
related to pre-calculus trigonometry, a about. ‘Although some believe that
According to a 2012 study by the subject that is challenging for many, but making mathematics meaningful
Program on International Student sits at the gateway to entry into many amounts to linking it to specific applied
Assessment (PISA), the United States is STEM fields. His studies are aimed at problems that are relevant to the daily
behind other nations in mathematics enhancing students’ understanding lives of students, our construal of what
and science education. The study of trigonometry concepts and their it means to make math meaningful is
found that only 25% of US 15-year olds reliance on them, with the hope that this different,’ he says. ‘We see mathematics
had reached a point where they could might ultimately facilitate their success as a set of constructed systems that
understand and complete higher order in other STEM-related disciplines. provide powerful tools for inference and
mathematics tasks, compared to the reasoning but that involve constructs
average 31% of students across the 34 and conventions that are often quite
countries assessed. foreign to the experience of the learner.’

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 Why does cos(-θ) = cos(θ) if sin(-θ) = -sin(θ)? to build toward more advanced
mathematics ideas and concepts,’
• Two trig identities that seem arbitrary when considered as 
 explains Dr McClelland.
abstract rules to memorize:
• sin(-θ) = -sin(θ)
• cos(-θ) = cos(θ) θ The Trig Academy Platform views
• The key relationships these identities express are not
arbitrary within the unit circle: trigonometry as a system to
• For the point at any position on a unit circle and its up-
down reflection understand the quantitative
• Their vertical positions are equidistant from the properties of spatial relations.
horizontal axis in opposite directions
• This is the relationship captured by sin(-θ) = - -θ Achieving a thorough understanding
sin(θ)
• The two points have the same horizontal position of this system and its conventions
relative to vertical axis
• This is the relationship captured by cos(-θ) =
should ultimately make these
cos(θ) relationships intuitive for students.

Figure 1. By identifying variables such as 0 with positions on a circle and identifying the According to Dr McClelland, it is vital
trig functions sin and cos with the vertical and horizontal positions of points of the circle, that students start seeing formulas
the meaning of an expression like cos(-0)=-cos(0), and the reason why the expression is as a way of efficiently expressing
true becomes clear. relationships they can visualise
and manipulate in their minds,
His work also has three broader aims of a physically realisable visuospatial rather than as mere arrangements of
– adapting the course material for use model that can be internalised and meaningless symbols to manipulate,
with students that have never been applied as a basis to understand with the only goal being that of solving
exposed to pre-calculus trigonometry trigonometry-related concepts. mathematics exercises.
– extending the content covered by
the course to include additional pre- An example showing how the unit circle Prompting this change in perception
calculus trigonometry topics – and model can make two very arbitrary, and and ensuring that students achieve
deploying the extended version of perhaps even seemingly contradictory, a full understanding of trigonometric
the current training program in 11th trigonometric relationships meaningful relationships usually takes time –
and 12th grade classrooms (for young is provided in Figure 1. ‘We have requiring the core realisation that the
people aged 16-18 years old), to assess found that students who ground their goal is to understand the system and
its outcomes. understanding of trigonometry in the not to achieve the correct results by
unit circle correctly understand that memorising formulas. For this reason,
Dr McClelland and some of his the cosine of a value is equal to the students participating in the program
colleagues have established the cosine of the negative of the value, as are asked to take their time while
Trig Academy platform at Stanford captured by the formula cos(-0)=cos(0),’ progressing through the material.
University – a project aimed at Dr McClelland notes.
providing students with a good and Dr McClelland’s work is based on
coherent background for understanding However, those who do not ground previous research suggesting that
trigonometry. Instead of asking students their understanding in the unit circle spatial ability and the acquisition of
to merely memorise rules and formulas, assume that cos(-0)=-cos(0). ‘Students elaborated conceptual structures to
Dr McClelland hopes the materials his who approach trigonometry as a system approach mathematics and science
team has created will help students of arbitrary rules have no basis for problems are strongly associated with
to understand and reason applying understanding the correct relationship,’ success in many STEM-related fields.
trigonometric relationships. The course Dr McClelland explains. ‘Unfortunately, Stanford’s Trig Academy curriculum
provides students with a series of the educational system leaves students specifically asks students to think about
learning materials, through which they far too susceptible to coming away from mathematical meaning in space, in the
can progress independently. several weeks of trigonometry without context of an imaginary circle (the unit
appreciating the basic meaning of circle) that should help them to better
A Structured System for Learning trigonometric expressions.’ understand trigonometric relationships.
Trigonometry
‘By immersing the learner in the Students are asked to complete a series
Dr McClelland’s approach to teaching structured system and making it clear of interactive exercises that explain
trigonometry is based on a spatially to the learner that the goal should be the overall mathematical system,
grounded conceptual model called the to understand how the system works – prompting them to interact with it
‘unit circle’. The researcher hypothesises and not to memorise lists of formulas and observe resulting relationships.
that this model could link trigonometric – we hope to convey a productive Eventually, the visual representations
expressions to measurable properties understanding that allows the student that assisted students in understanding

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 After completing the trigonometry materials delivered by
Dr McClelland, for instance, one student wrote, ‘I would like to
add that the study material is amazing and I have learned a
great deal. This time around I’m actually learning something
and comprehending everything so I appreciate this study
very much.’

The Trig Academy, in its current form, does not work for all
students. However, high-school students who had little prior
knowledge of pre-requisite mathematical concepts that were
built on in the course material seemed to encounter greater
learning difficulties during their studies. ‘Up to the present, we
have been able to achieve successful learning outcomes with
the mathematical relationships are removed, asking them three-quarters of all students,’ says Dr McClelland. ‘However,
to internalise what they learned and reproduce the same we find that the remaining one-quarter of students still don’t
visualisations in their mind. “get” the ideas we are trying to teach them. Our focus now is
on understanding the key prior ideas and thinking skills these
Initial Results students may need to allow them to succeed.’

So far, Dr McClelland has tested his approach to teaching Making Mathematics Meaningful
trigonometry on undergraduate students at Stanford, after
first exploring the strategies successful students used to Mathematics is often viewed by students as a subject based
solve trigonometry identity problems. Use of the unit circle on numbers, symbols and rules – but it is actually the study
was associated with better performance in exercises, leading of patterns and relationships. These relationships are at the
McClelland and his team to build their learning platform around core of most scientific disciplines and gaining a comprehensive
the unit circle. The original course material was developed with understanding of them can be beneficial for all students
Stanford undergraduates in mind and the researchers then who wish to pursue further studies and careers in STEM-
adapted it to make it more suitable for students with less prior related fields.
knowledge of trigonometry.
Academic programs such as the one developed by Dr
In a first round with the new lesson materials, McClelland’s McClelland and his colleagues could be incredibly valuable,
team recruited 25 volunteers from a collaborating nearby high providing students with a thorough grasp of important
school called Tahoma Summit School as well as 14 students at mathematical concepts that will help them stand out when
a neighbouring community college. The students were asked competing for a variety of scientific positions in future.
to complete pre-tests before starting the course, a series of
exercises during the course, and post-tests once the course Dr McClelland is now planning to engage in further
was completed. collaboration with Summit Public Schools, introducing the
materials that he developed into several other schools in this
Tahoma Summit students were supported by a teacher network. In future, he would also like to apply similar learning
and had previously been exposed to trigonometry, while approaches to other areas of mathematics.
community college students completed their study completely
independently, working entirely through an internet-based Additional research exploring the impact of learning through
learning platform. The results collected were similar for both visuospatial representations on students’ performance
groups of students, despite the different learning conditions. and understanding of mathematical concepts will help to
inform educators and policymakers on the best strategies
Most students showed a significant improvement in their post- to teach mathematics.
test and their performance was found to be the same three
weeks after the study, suggesting that the ideas they learned ‘Our goal is to make the world of mathematical ideas and
were well retained. concepts meaningful,’ says Dr McClelland. ‘Math can seem to be
a hopeless jumble of complex expressions and it is often taught
Overall, the study findings suggested that while learning how as a system of arbitrary rules that must be memorised. Instead,
to use the unit circle visualisation method required more mathematics is really a set of ideas, not just a language for
time than other strategies, it was generally associated with describing them. To learn these ideas, we aim to teach students
more accurate performance. Dr McClelland says, ‘our greatest to see relationships they have not considered before, and then
measure of success comes from students, who tell us we have gradually learn to rely on these relationships.’
changed their experience of mathematics.’

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 CREDIT: Angela Drury – Stanford University

Meet the researcher

Professor James L. McClelland
Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences
Director, Center for Mind, Brain and Computation
Department of Psychology
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
USA

Dr James McClelland is a Professor of Cognitive Science in the CONTACT

Psychology Department and Director of the Center for Mind,
Brain and Computation at Stanford University. He received a BA E: [email protected]
in Psychology from Columbia University and a PhD in Cognitive W: https://stanford.edu/~jlmcc/
Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He has since
held teaching and faculty positions at numerous universities, KEY COLLABORATORS
including the University of California and Carnegie-Mellon
University. Professor McClelland’s research addresses a broad Kevin Mickey, David Romano, Su Su, and Laura Weseman
range of topics in cognitive science and neuroscience, including Kreisel, Stanford University.
perception and perceptual decision making, learning and Kyle Moyer, Summit Public Schools
memory, language and reading, semantic and mathematical
cognition and cognitive development. Over the course of his FUNDING
career, he has contributed substantially to both experimental
and theoretical literature in several areas. Professor McClelland Grant IES R305A150453 from the US Department of Education
has also served as Senior Editor of the journal Cognitive to J. McClelland and National Science Foundation Graduate
Science, as President of the Cognitive Science Society, as a Research Fellowship to K. Mickey
member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council and as
President of the Federation of Associations in the Behavioural FURTHER READING
and Brain Sciences. He has received many honours and awards,
including the APS William James Fellow Award for lifetime K Mickey and JL McClelland, The unit circle as a grounded
contributions to the basic science of psychology, the David E. conceptual structure in pre-calculus trigonometry. In DC Geary,
Rumelhart prize for contributions to the theoretical DB Berch, R Ochsendorf and K Mann, Koepke (Eds.), Acquisition
foundations of Cognitive Science, and the Heineken Prize of Complex Arithmetic Skills and Higher-Order Mathematics
in Cognitive Science. Concepts, 2017, Vol. 3, Elsevier/Academic Press.

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