ABSTRACT
Rationals and irrationals comprise reals, and reals are located among complex numbers. Having described the transition metaphor in general, the authors suggest how it can play out in teaching in order to support students' transition from real to complex numbers. They invite readers to repress their familiarity with complex numbers while working on the tasks offered in the next sections in an attempt to imagine how this path less travelled might be experienced by learners who are introduced to the concept for the first time. On the one hand, students transitioning to complex numbers typically possess a considerable experience with adding different kinds of "numbers". Accordingly, the authors propose that teachers assist their students with networking real and complex numbers, in the sense of building bridges between the two domains while respecting their distinct mathematical identities.
