Comportamiento y contexto sociocultural comunitario que influye sobre el ambiente y los recursos naturales en el Departamento de Jalapa, Guatemala

Introducción La comunidad de Ladinos Pardos (CLP)se encuentra a unos 12 km al suroeste de la cabecera municipal y departamental de Jalapa, en la Región sur-oriental de Guatemala, definida en la Ley de Regionalización  como Región IV, que abarca los departamentos de Jalapa, Jutiapa y Santa Rosa (Decreto Legislativo de Guatemala No. 70-86). Ocupa un terreno montañoso en una parte y semiplano en otra, entre los municipios de Jalapa…

Sociocultural context as a facilitator of student learning of function concepts in mathematics

In Costa Rica, many secondary students have serious difficulties to establish relationships between mathematics and real-life contexts. They question the utilitarian role of the school mathematics. This fact motivated the research object of this report which evidences the need to overcome methodologies unrelated to students’ reality, toward new didactical options that help students to value mathematics, reasoning and its  applications, connecting it with their socio-cultural context. The research used a case study as a qualitative methodology and the social constructivism as an educational paradigm in which the knowledge is built by the student; as a product of his social interactions. A collection of learning situations was designed, validated, and implemented. It allowed establishing relationships between mathematical concepts and the socio-cultural context of participants. It analyzed the impact of students’socio-cultural context in their mathematics learning of basic concepts of real variable functions, consistent with the Ministry of Education (MEP) Official Program.  Among the results, it was found that using students’sociocultural context improved their motivational processes, mathematics sense making, and promoted cooperative social interactions. It was evidenced that contextualized learning situations favored concepts comprehension that allow students to see mathematics as a discipline closely related with their every-day life.