Geometry Students’ Arguments About a 1-Point Perspective Drawing

The practice of formulating and justifying claims is a fundamental aspect of doing mathematics, and in geometry, students’ use of diagrams is integral to how they establish arguments. We applied Toulmin’s model to examine 23 geometry students’ arguments about figures included in a 1-point perspective drawing. We asked how students’ arguments drew upon their knowledge of 1-point perspective and their use of the diagram provided with the problem. Students warranted their claims based upon their knowledge of perspective, both in an artistic context as well as from experiences in everyday life. Students engaged in multiple apprehensions of the diagram, including using the given features, adding features, or measuring components, to justify claims about the figures. This study illustrates the importance of students’ prior knowledge of a context for formulating arguments, as well as how that prior knowledge is integrated with students’ use of a geometric diagram.