Diagnosis of Student’s Attitudes towards Mathematics in the First Year of Three Graduate Programs in Business Administration

The objective of this research was to determine the student’s attitudes towards Mathematics at the beginning of their graduate studies in Business Administration. The study used an exploratory, non-experimental, cross-sectional design. The instrument used was a questionnaire based on willingness, confidence, utility, motivation and anxiety with Likert questions. The study concluded that students have a negative attitude towards Mathematics; it is considered as a useful but difficult discipline and, for that reason, students show anxiety and lack of confidence when applying mathematical procedures.

Actitud de maestras y maestros hacia el trabajo cooperativo en el aprendizaje de la matemática

Recibido 22 de febrero de 2010 • Aceptado 17 de marzo de 2010 • Corregido 22 de marzo de 2010   En este artículo se reportan los resultados más relevantes del proyecto de investigación “Actitud de maestras y maestros hacia el trabajo cooperativo en el aprendizaje de la matemática”, desarrollado en la Escuela de Matemática del Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, bajo el código 5402-1440-2201. Se mide, describe e interpreta la actitud de los maestros y las maestras hacia el trabajo cooperativo en el aprendizaje de la matemática, como resultado de la exposición a un taller en el que se empleó como estrategia metodológica el trabajo cooperativo para el aprendizaje de la matemática. La investigación contempló tanto técnicas cualitativas como cuantitativas.

Strategies to Promote Research and Logical Reasoning in the Teaching of Mathematics in the Schools

The purpose of this paper is to raise a debate on the urgent need for teachers to generate innovative situations in the teaching-learning process, in the field of Mathematics, as a way for students to develop logical reasoning and research skills applicable to everyday situations. It includes some statistical data and possible reasons for the poor performance and dissatisfaction of students towards Mathematics. Since teachers are called to offer meaningful and functional learning experiences to students, in order to promote the pleasure of learning, teacher training should include experiences that can be put into practice by teachers in the education centers. This paper includes a work proposal for Mathematics Teaching to generate discussion, curiosity and logical reasoning in students, together with the Mathematical problem solving study.