Mathematics courses should prepare students to use mathematics in a range of contexts, including science. However, students often struggle in applying mathematics in physics courses, even when they understand the mathematical content (Rebello et al., 2007). Often the root of this struggle is attributed to the "student" or the…

Science and engineering instructors often observe that students have difficulty using or applying prerequisite mathematics knowledge in their courses. This qualitative project uses a case-study method to investigate the instruction in a trigonometry course and a physics course based on a different methodology and set of assumptions about student…