Early Childhood Mathematics Education: Research, Curriculum and Educational Practice

This article reviews data obtained through research into early childhood mathematics education in Spain. It analyses the current curricular directions in mathematics education with early learners. It also provides an overview of mathematical practices in early childhood education classrooms to analyse the commonalities and differences between research, curriculum and educational practice. A review of the research presented at SEIEM symposia from 1997 until 2012 demonstrates: a) very little research has been done, a trend that is repeated in other areas, such as the JCR-Social Sciences Edition or the PME; b) the first steps have been taken to create a more and more cohesive body of research, although until now there has not been enough data to outline the curricular directions; and c) some discrepancies still exist between the mathematical practices in early childhood education classrooms and the official guidelines

Una visión actualizada de la didáctica de la matemática en educación infantil = An up-to-date vision of pre-school mathematics teaching

This article aims to investigate pre-school mathematics teaching from an uptodate perspective. To pursue this contemporary vision we focus on four key questions: what kind of maths is being worked on, who is doing it, how it is being done, and why it is being done

Codeship: Financing growth: Case study and Teaching note

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

An examination of grade three mathematics textbooks for problem solving strategies

Three grade three mathematics textbooks were selected arbitrarily (every other) from a total of six currently used in the schools of Ontario. These textbooks were examined through content analysis in order to determine the extent (i. e., the frequency of occurrence) to which problem solving strategies appear in the problems and exercises of grade three mathematics textbooks, and how well they carry through the Ministry's educational goals set out in The Formative Years. Based on Polya's heuristic model, a checklist was developed by the researcher. The checklist had two main categories, textbook problems and process problems and a finer classification according to the difficulty level of a textbook problem; also six commonly used problem solving strategies for the analysis of a process problem. Topics to be analyzed were selected from the subject guideline The Formative Years, and the same topics were selected from each textbook. Frequencies of analyzed problems and exercises were compiled and tabulated textbook by textbook and topic by topic. In making comparisons, simple frequency count and percentage were used in the absence of any known criteria available for judging highor low frequency. Each textbook was coded by three coders trained to use the checklist. The results of analysis showed that while there were large numbers of exercises in each textbook, not very many were framed as problems according to Polya' s model and that process problems form a small fraction of the number of analyzed problems and exercises. There was no pattern observed as to the systematic placement of problems in the textbooks.

La Adquisición de competencias básicas en educación primaria: una aproximación interdisciplinar desde la didáctica de la lengua y de las matemáticas

Este artículo trata de la aplicación de las competencias básicas en el currículum de Educación Primaria. El objetivo que persigue es ofrecer algunas estrategias para ayudar a los maestros a integrar las competencias básicas en los métodos de programación y evaluación. Con este fin, y para prever las posibles dificultades en la implementación de las competencias básicas, en la primera parte del artículo se analiza la situación actual a partir de la lectura de diversos documentos legales vigentes. A continuación, en la segunda parte del artículo se aportan algunas herramientas para facilitar esta integración desde las áreas de lengua y de matemáticas. Realizamos esta aproximación desde la didáctica de la lengua y de las matemáticas por su carácter instrumental para la adquisición de otros conocimientos

Proceso de transformación de las concepciones del profesorado sobre la resolución de problemas matemáticos

The aim of this study is to analyze the transformation of Primary School teachers’ conceptions about mathematical problem solving. We performed a study with 18 teachers from three public schools: in each class (from 1º to 6º) there were two interventions, and we were interviewed teachers before and after them. The results have show identified changes in: 1) teacher’s expectations about students’ abilities; classroom management; perception of diversity; mathematical strategies used by students; communication in the classroom; causes of the problems encountered; and relevance process of problem solving in mathematics teaching. The transformation of teachers’ conceptions is due to the following factors: a) awareness of the practice; b) systematic reflection; c) the contrast between different ways to work solving problems in math class

La estadística y la probabilidad en Educación Infantil conocimientos disciplinares, didácticos y experienciales

This article presents an approach to disciplinary knowledge, and experiential learning necessary for the Early Childhood Education teachers can teach statistics and probability significantly, effective and systematic. First, are specified a set of basic knowledge about the discipline and exposed the contents sequenced by level; secondly, provides guidance on how they learn and how they should be taught the knowledge of statistics and probability in the first ages; and, finally, are some examples of activities implemented in kindergarten classrooms

Activitats competencials per aprendre a usar les matemàtiques al Cicle Inicial

Presentació de diferents activitats competencials per aprendre a usar les matemàtiques al cicle Inicial (entre 6-8 anys)

Las mates, desde bien temprano

Article d'opinió que comenta la necessitat d'afavorir l'adquisició de coneixements matemàtics des d'edats molt tempranes

Matemàtiques per a l'escola o per a la vida?: cap a l'alfabetisme matemàtic a l'educació primària

En aquest article, s’hi planteja que, en els darrers temps, s’ha vist la necessitat de preparar l’alumnat no només per dominar els continguts matemàtics, sinó especialment per poder-los usar de manera comprensiva en diferents contextos de rellevància social. S’hi argumenta que els processos matemàtics són les eines que ens proporcionen les matemàtiques per aprendre a usar els continguts i s’hi presenta una proposta que pretén orientar sobre com els podem treballar a l’educació primària

Material per a l'alumnat: Activitats competencials per aprendre a usar les matemàtiques al cicle inicial

Propostes de treball i activitats competencials per aprendre a usar les matemàtiques al CI

Les mates, des de ben aviat

En aquest article d'opinió, Àngel Alsina comenta la necessitat d'afavorir l'adquisició de coneixements matemàtics des d'edats ben primerenques

Etude de pratiques enseignantes et de différenciations dans les apprentissages mathématiques scolaires à l’école primaire

Dans le cadre du réseau RESEIDA (REcherches sur la Socialisation, l’Enseignement, les Inégalités et les Différenciations dans les Apprentissages, co-piloté par E. Bautier et J-Y. Rochex), je participe depuis plusieurs années à une recherche qui vise à étudier des pratiques enseignantes contextualisées et leurs effets potentiellement différenciateurs sur les apprentissages d’élèves, en croisant des points de vue issus de différentes didactiques et de la sociologie de l'éducation. Dans ce contexte, un imposant corpus de données a été recueilli dans deux classes françaises de CM2 (élèves de 10-11 ans) considérées comme hétérogènes (d'après les résultats d'évaluations nationales, les caractéristiques familiales) en 2004-2005: composé à la fois de données filmiques orientées vers les pratiques d’enseignantes et d’élèves en situation de classe, de photocopies de cahiers ou de productions d’élèves. Ma présentation se centre sur l’analyse d’une partie de ces données, concernant l’enseignement des mathématiques observé dans une des deux classes de CM2. Plus précisément, j’effectue un zoom sur deux situations observées dans cette classe: une situation de résolution de problèmes et une situation d’enseignement des pourcentages. Ces deux situations apparaissent contrastées (gestion enseignante, apprentissages mathématiques potentiels, etc.). Mais elles permettent précisément de montrer que derrière une hétérogénéité apparente de pratiques d’une enseignante, une façon commune de penser et de faire la classe de mathématiques se joue, dont on peut penser qu’elle pèse fortement sur les apprentissages potentiels en contexte scolaire

El juego y su estructura interna en relación con el trabajo de la condición física en primaria = Games and their internal structure in relation to the work of physical condition in Primary Education

One of the methodological resources that teachers use in a generalised way in Physical Education classes is the game. Inthis article we define the concept of game and analyse the characteristics of their internal structure. On the other hand welook at the concepts of physical condition and conditional skills and describe the objectives of its work in Primary Education.Finally, we relate these concepts and propose two practical examples of modifying the internal structure of the game so asto produce variations in the implied conditional skills