Representational versatility and linear algebraic equations

The value of encouraging students to form rich links between different representations of mathematical concepts has been recognised for some time. However, in practice this is often not done in teaching. This paper describes an attempt to use computer algebra system (CAS) calculators to assist 14/15 year old students to build links between the algebra and graphs, tables and ordered pairs for solutions to linear algebraic equations. The results show that these students found the CAS calculators difficult to use and, although they did better at solving the equations they did not improve very much in their representational versatility.