Search

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have fueled innovative support techniques in the educational field that enhance students' educational training processes. The goal of this study was to measure the relationships between progress in that training, mathematical self-concept, and the new students' academic performance when they were supported by an online training, through the Khan Academy platform. A sample of 906 students distributed over four cohorts was analyzed through correlational and inferential quantitative methodology. The results show that students' academic performance was directly related to their mathematical self-concept, their progress in the online training, and other socioeconomic factors, such as being in receipt of grants, their parents’ educational attainment, and access to technological devices at home, highlighting a technological gap in academic performance in favor of students with access to such devices. Further research is needed about the role of teachers and the methodology that accompanies learning through this technological tool.

Se analiza la comprensión de tablas estadísticas (de recuento y de frecuencias) con 78 alumnos españoles de 7-8 años de tres centros escolares. A partir de un enfoque mixto, descriptivo y exploratorio, basado en un análisis del contenido de tipo convencional, se ha diseñado y analizado una actividad basada en datos del contexto de la COVID-19, estructurada en cuatro fases: diálogo inicial, trabajo individual, en pequeño grupo y en gran grupo. El foco del análisis se sitúa en la construcción de tablas y su interpretación, junto con la transnumeración. Los datos revelan: 1) un buen nivel de interés, participación y capacidad de reflexión del alumnado; 2) la mayoría del alumnado ha sido capaz de elaborar tablas de recuento y la mitad ha realizado la transnumeración a tablas de frecuencias, detectando algunas dificultades y errores tanto en la realización como en la interpretación posterior. Se concluye que estos resultados permiten comprender mejor el desarrollo de la alfabetización estadística del alumnado de los primeros niveles y, consecuentemente, aportan datos relevantes para diseñar programas de formación del profesorado más eficaces.

La educación matemática debe abordarse desde una perspectiva global, que comprenda elementos de contextos interdisciplinares, y que implique múltiples competencias. En este proceso, el papel del profesorado es fundamental para lograr un aprendizaje significativo. En este trabajo se presenta una innovación educativa orientada a la resolución de problemas matemáticos en el segundo curso de Educación Primaria, basada en un planteamiento integrador que relaciona la competencia matemática con el resto de las competencias clave. Mediante técnicas de aprendizaje cooperativo y el planteamiento de diversas situaciones y contextos relacionados con otras áreas del currículo, se promueve la búsqueda de soluciones y su explicación. Los resultados constatan un aumento de la motivación del alumnado durante el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje de las matemáticas, además de una mejora en los razonamientos seguidos en el seno del grupo de alumnos y alumnas.

The aim of this paper is to identify profiles of future teachers in secondary education based on their perception towards the acquisition of competences, relating them with the previous background. By means of an online questionnaire, data were collected from student teachers or recently graduated teachers in mathematics from the Master’s degree in Secondary Education Teacher-Training in different Spanish universities. The analysis has allowed to identify three profiles, which are correlated with a higher or lower perception of attaining the competences, either related to mathematical knowledge or to pedagogical content. Thus, results are in line with the theoretical model used to describe mathematics teachers’ knowledge. This study supports the need to design and implement interventions that improve the weaknesses of each profile during initial teacher training.

Our research focuses on Mathematics Teacher Educator specialized knowledge. By means theoretical tools driven from Mathematics Teacher Specialized Knowledge model (MTSK model) we focus on teacher educators’ specialized knowledge and carry out a qualitative study in order to identify specific dimensions and domains of mathematics teacher educators’ specialized knowledge. We explore an extension of the MTSK model that can characterize the teacher educator’s specialized knowledge (Mathematics Teacher Educator Specialized Knowledge model) - MTESK model. Specifically, our focus will be on the Pedagogical Content Knowledge of the MTESK model.

El objetivo de este artículo es identificar los perfiles del futuro profesorado de matemáticas a partir de su percepción sobre la adquisición de competencias, relacionándolos con la formación previa. Mediante un cuestionario on-line se recogieron datos de profesores de matemáticas en formación o recientemente egresados del Máster en Formación del Profesorado de Educación Secundaria de distintas universidades españolas. El análisis ha permitido identificar tres perfiles que tienen diferentes correlaciones con la percepción de haber adquirido las competencias de conocimiento matemático y pedagógico-matemático. Los resultados son coherentes con el modelo teórico utilizado para describir el conocimiento del profesorado de matemáticas. Este estudio justifica la necesidad de diseñar e implementar intervenciones que mejoren las debilidades de cada uno de estos perfiles durante el periodo de formación inicial docente.

The teaching of probability is conditioned by teachers’ mathematical knowledge. In this paper, an exploratory study is carried out with prospective teachers. A training task was designed requiring them to create and solve a probability problem using the values of euro coins, which was adapted to students aged 11 to 12. The study aimed at determining what mathematical knowledge prospective teachers show when dealing with the task. The data were collected through the Moodle online Campus. We framed the data analysis in the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching model and we used content analysis as the methodological approach. The results indicate that, despite finding evidence of adequate common and specialised mathematical knowledge, in approximately half of the prospective teachers participating in the study, too many of them still show a lack of knowledge in both subdomains. There was also little evidence of knowledge of the curriculum. The main finding of the research is that, when prospective teachers get involved in complex creative tasks, they mobilised together specialised and common mathematical knowledge, working into different mathematical processes such as problem posing and solving, communication, and argumentation, which reinforces the need to continue working on these types of complex tasks.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a worldwide unexpected interruption of face-to-face teaching and a sudden conversion to emergency remote teaching (ERT). In this exploratory study, a sample of 244 secondary mathematics teachers was considered to analyze their perception of their readiness to ERT during the COVID-19 pandemic based on their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), their previous training in digital teaching tools, their level of digital competence for teaching mathematics, and their adaptation to ERT. An online questionnaire was applied, and the answers were quantitatively analyzed. Given the use of a large number of digital resources and the high percentage of self-developed materials using educational software, secondary mathematics teachers reflected adequate digital competence and TPCK for teaching mathematics. The sudden transition to ERT forced teachers to slow down the pace of teaching and to reduce the content taught. Significant differences were observed based on gender and age with respect to teachers’ perception of their adaptation to ERT. Despite the positive influence of previous training on their perception of readiness for ERT, in general, teachers recognized that they need more training. The demand for preparation for video editing and online quiz composition can be considered for the design of future training programs.

The goal of this research is to analyze the factors that mediate the success of the use of online learning support platforms, based on the perceptions of a focus group of university professors, with a qualitative methodological approach. The sample consisted of 11 mathematics professors who taught three subjects to 9 240 incoming students, during seven semesters between 2018 and 2021. Through open coding, 17 factors were identified that mediate the success of the online learning support platform. Through axial coding, 5 categories were determined that summarize the relationships between the different factors, namely: "obstacles," impediments that teachers must face when teaching; "teacher contribution," factors that indicate the added value that teachers find in the classroom from the implementation of online training; "student," reception given by students to the online training; "reinforcement," factors related to the medium used to develop the online training; "platform," factors related to the strategy itself and how to improve it. Finally, through selective coding, it was possible to integrate and redefine the central categories, obtaining as a result an implementation model of the online platform, which can explain and contribute to the success of other similar experiences at the university level.

The emergency caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has revealed significant deficiencies in citizens’ statistical and probabilistic knowledge and in people’s understanding of mathematical and, particularly, stochastic models, which may lead to wrong personal or institutional choices, with critical consequences for the entire population. Mathematics teachers play an essential role in ensuring citizens’ statistical and probabilistic literacy. This study aimed at analyzing the pedagogical content knowledge that teachers utilized to teach statistics and probability through considering contextualized situations. In order to accomplish this purpose, fourteen secondary mathematics teachers participated in a formative and evaluative activity that was designed using the transformational professional competence model. During each evaluative phase, a group discussion was conducted. Participants were asked to reflect on their actions when promoting statistical and probabilistic literacy by considering a range of topics (data science, didactic resources, and methodological approaches) that were addressed during the training phase. A mixed, quantitative–qualitative methodological design was used for the data collection and analysis, which involved open-ended, multiple-choice, or scale-type questions that were moderated by the Metaplan® approach and the Mentimeter® software. The main ideas that emerged from the results indicated the need to reinforce the use of real data, technological resources to handle the visualization of information, the elaboration of different types of graphs besides the classical ones, and the formulation of hypotheses. The initial diagnosis will continue within a research and practice community made up of teachers and researchers. Therefore, a working proposal based on examples and models contextualized within the COVID-19 crisis is presented in order to enhance secondary mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge.