A Pedagogical Strategy for Integrated Education of Spanish in the 4th to 6th Grades of the General Basic Education

Language teaching has become a priority in the Costa Rican educational system, considering it as a tool for communication and development of thought. Without language, there is no access to other curriculum disciplinary knowledge. A successful experience conducted some years ago, with students from 4th to 6th grade, was the basis for the design and implementation of a professional development activity addressed to promoting an integration strategy previously adjusted according to the Ministry’s requirements and the existing national regulations. This study is developed in the framework of a qualitative paradigm including research-action and systematization. A purposive sample was selected based on a suitability factor, through which individuals are informed about the strategy, and then the strategy is applied to a group of students from urban-marginal areas. The techniques used include literature review, analysis of curriculum and Ministry’s regulations, application of an in-depth interview, discussions from the course’s participant in a portfolio, and discussions from students to whom the strategy was applied. We analyzed the considerations of teachers and students, as well as the theoretical and regulatory information by triangulation. The study’s conclusion is the necessity of a communicative approach in language teaching and our recommendation is to implement the strategy developed in the Costa Rican classrooms as provided in this paper.

MAPAS COGNITIVOS APRENDIZAJES DESDE LA VIVENCIA ESPACIAL

El artículo integra los marcos teóricos de la Geografía de la Percepción y el aprendizaje significativo mediante una secuencia didáctica para la enseñanza de la cartografía en el curso Didáctica de los Estudios Sociales para educación Básica, de la carrera Diplomado en pedagogía con acento en I y II ciclos de la Educación general Básica, Universidad Nacional.  El objetivo general se centró en analizar la utilidad del mapa cognitivo en la enseñanza de la cartografía, para contrastar con otos métodos tradicionales.  Los resultados revelan que las configuraciones espaciales representadas en los mapas cognitivos se asemejan muy poco a las representaciones cartográficas convencionales, no obstante la metodología implementada produce aprendizaje significativoPalabras claves: Geografía de la Percepción-Aprendizaje significativo-Secuencia didáctica-Mapa cognitivo-Enseñanza de la cartografía.Abstract:The article comprises the theoretical frameworks of the Geography of Perception and significant learning by means of a didactic sequence for the teaching of cartography in the Didactic course of Social Studies for Basic education, the Diploma course of study in pedagogy with emphasis on cycles I and II of general Basic Education,  Universidad Nacional.  The general objective is focused on analyzing the usefulness of the cognitive map in the teaching of cartography in order to contrast it other traditional methods. The results reveal that the spatial configurations represented in the cognitive maps bear little resemblance to the conventional cartographic representations. Nevertheless, the methodology implemented produces significant learning.Key Words: Geography of Perception, significant learning, didactic sequence, cognitive map, cartography education, cartography.

Relevant Aspects on Teaching Probability and Statistics in Basic General Education

Probability and Statistics were included in the Basic General Education curricula by the Ministry of Public Education (Costa Rica), since 1995. To analyze the teaching reality in these fields, a research was conducted in two educational regions of the country: Heredia and Pérez Zeledón. The survey included university training and updating processes of teachers teaching Statistics and Probability in the schools. The research demonstrated the limited university training in these fields, the dissatisfaction of teachers about it, and the poor support of training institutions to their professional exercise.

Feasibility in Using Technological Resources for Implementing the Environmental Culture Cross-Cutting Factor for Sustainable Development in the Costa Rican Basic General Education

The purpose of this research was to analyze whether the use of technological resources may be feasible in the implementation of the environmental culture cross-cutting factor for sustainable development, which focuses on environmental issues related to the contents of the Science study program for the seventh year of the basic general education. The research design is qualitative with a dominant approach and uses some quantitative elements specifically in the design of instruments and some data analysis techniques. The type of study was developed with a multi-method approach; a trend that has been shaping a research style which integrates various methods in a single design. For this, we identified the didactic strategies and their relationship to both, technology and the environmental axis for sustainable development, used by six Science teachers of the 7th grade, in public institutions of the province of Heredia, Central Valley, Costa Rica, as well as the opinion of 20 students from that same grade. The main results include the opinions of the students, who showed a considerable interest in classes where technological resources are used. However, teachers do not show great interest or positive opinions on this matter; in addition, they are not well trained on the use of technological resources. It was also identified that the teaching personal who participated in the study do not develop this curricular axis.