From the CIDE Working Document

A New Methodology to Learn MATHEMATICS

INTRODUCTION

One of the aspects that most directly affects the quality of secondary education, in
especially the one affecting the lower-income population, is the lack of relevance of the
curricula. The content of the teaching comes from plans and programs developed in the decade
from the sixties - and although updated 11 years ago, recent research shows that its
academic orientation deeply rejected by students. The topics are taught in
repetitive and memoristic mode; teachers make dictation the most used method; the
subjects of the so-called common plan that include mathematical and scientific foundations
cultural aspects of technologies do not relate to technical subjects or specialties.
As a result, students do not give it any importance; and they do not see its application in the working world.
Furthermore, the use of workshops or laboratories is almost non-existent.
The Quality and Equity Improvement Program of Education
Basic and Secondary (MECE), which the Ministry of Education has been developing since 1991
by 1995, respectively, aim to raise the learning levels of all
students, in particular from the lower income sectors. However, unlike
previous reforms in which the ministry of education had a leading role, the new
programs aim to improve quality by deepening decentralization. Therefore the
change actions do not come from the central level; it only sets the conditions for them to occur.
the change occurs. Innovative actions must come from the high schools themselves supported
by independent universities and academic centers, by the community, and companies
private.
The Fundamental Objectives and Minimum Contents (OFCM); offer a change
noun corresponding to the effort of the school to harmonize what it can offer as
training experience for their students, with the changes that occur in this century due to the
big technological changes. Thus, the graduate will be prepared to face challenges better.
shape changes and adapt to the growing speed of technology and industrial organization
and services.
The school must provide opportunities through flexibility in both methods and...
the content so that they acquire enriching experiences and adapt to changes
more easily.
The proposal presented by the Ministry of Education gives teachers the opportunity to
to create, to look at education for the future, to make substantive changes and to employ new
methodologies, to best prepare students to face the changes of
next century.
The purpose of this document is to present an option to what has been proposed by the
Ministry of Education, regarding the search for new methodologies or ways to face
to the course group in one of the subjects, the mathematics subject and on the other hand show
a proven methodological alternative, in which the student experiences concepts
mathematicians with concrete elements in a given real context.

1
A NEW PEDAGOGICAL MODEL

The concepts are generally presented in high schools in a sequential manner.

starting with the fundamental principles and moving on to more complex concepts
abstract. In the traditional mode, it is presented as an activity of the course group with the
teacher, developing exercises from a book or from a developed guide or just from
written exercises on the blackboard. Likewise and to achieve better assimilation of the
concepts, "homework" tasks are given, skill exercises that only measure achievement in the
ability of mental manipulation and not of application or understanding. Unfortunately, many
students, especially those who learn abstract concepts through ways
concrete, they do not understand the relevance, the importance of mental exercise for a 'world
real.
Through a radical methodological change that establishes the horizontal relationship in the
teaching, the student understands the meaning, the usefulness of mathematics and sciences in
working life.
The model used for the Active Minds program for Applied Mathematics
CORD is distinguished by a curriculum focused on understanding and managing processes.
basic productive, with real applications in both industry, service sector, etc. and a
methodology aimed at problem solving in general, health, agriculture, technology
industrial and generic.
This range of problems that each module presents in general consists of around
of 40 problems with their respective degrees of difficulty, which are indicated in the module
from the professor as well as the solutions for each of them.
It also provides students with a scientific and technological culture that enables them
to personally confront a range of problems that affect everyday life
socially as individually. It helps to train young people so that they can have an optimal
performance in a trade or in the career they choose.

This model is fundamentally centered on cooperative and contextual learning,

learning takes place in a context of sharing, responding, and communicating with others
students in a field of cooperation.

PILLARS OF THE PEDAGOGICAL MODEL.

The model is based on cooperative learning and contextual learning.
All students exhibit individual differences and different styles and paces of
learning. Research has shown that students' minds do not process, nor
retains isolated pieces of information to be able to use them with a certain meaning, unless one
make connections or meaningful relationships can be established, with meaning for future life.

2
 This model gives meaning to the knowledge that students acquire. They
They will be able to explain what they did, why it is used and what it is used for. All the
learning capabilities need to make connections, and students today
they learn in isolation and without meaning.

THE CONTEXTUAL AND THE COOPERATIVE

If the student is considered and

presents all the opportunities
learning it is easier to achieve
Learning
Currently, the existing level of knowledge does not allow for a vision
clear and specific about the nature and mechanisms of learning. While it is
Indeed, there are many theories that explain various aspects, this phenomenon still
it has not been possible to explain in all its complexity.
Some authors define learning as:
Learning: "it is a cyclical process that perpetuates and changes over time, in the
What the learnings of one cycle constitute the inputs of the next.1”.
Learning: "is the process by which these structures of prior knowledge are
they transform into new structures through a dynamic confrontation
with new information (Bourgeois).
Learning as a process is cumulative, for this each person in this
process makes its connections, that is, a student does not retain isolated information and
without context, that is, it accumulates them with a sense and with a meaning.

Learning Styles
Although different learning styles are suitable for various goals,
processes, learning materials, the teacher must consider their own
characteristics and adapt the style, thus we propose to those who learn a certain variety of
educational experiences, using the different learning styles that each one has
person.
Kolb identifies four dominant dimensions of learning styles.
The characteristics of these learning styles: Kolb characterizes it as the
following form: divergent, accommodator, convergent, and assimilator

1
Brundage and Mackeracher, 1980

3
DIVERGENT ASSIMILATORS

Its strength lies in its capacity Your greatest resource is your ability to
imaginative y of innovation are create theoretical models.
people, ideas. They seek facts.
They seek a meaning. They need to know what they think about
They need to be personally experts.
involved. They learn by thinking through ideas;
They learn by listening and sharing ideas. shapes reality.
They absorb reality. They perceive the abstract information and the
they process reflexively.
They perceive the information through a
experience and express it reflectively. They stand out in reasoning.
inductive y the simulation of
They excel in situations that involve the
disparate observations that conclude
creation of ideas.
in an eclectic explanation.
They are interested in people.
They are more interested in concepts
They can analyze concrete situations. abstracts that in people: do not
from much perspectives. Son they are too concerned in practice
divergent thinkers who believe in their of the theories.
own experiences.
It is more important for them than the
They tend to be imaginative and emotional. theory is coherent and precise; if the
They have broad cultural interests and theory does not fit the facts,
they usually specialize in the arts. tend to reexamine these last ones.
They get into serious trouble. They seek self-satisfaction and the
providing unity to diversity. intellectual recognition.
Her favorite question is 'Why?'. Her favorite question is 'What?'.
This type of learning is characteristic This learning style is found
of the advisors, the trained and chief in the research department
of staff with education in sciences and planning, and it is characteristic of
humanities and arts. the basic sciences and mathematics.
His primary interest is meaning. His primary interest is information.
personal.

4
CONVERGENT ADAPTERS

Its greatest resource lies in the Its main resource lies in execution
practical application of tasks. from the application of plans and experiences,
They seek utility. and in getting involved in new experiences.
They need to know how they work They seek hidden possibilities.
the things. They need to know what can be done
They learn by testing theories. with things.
through means that seem to him They learn for essay y error
sensitive; they avoid reality. self-discovery enrich the
They perceive abstract information. reality.
actively process. They perceive the information concretely and
they are actively processing it.
They perform better in situations
analogous to conventional tests of They tend to be at risk.
intelligence where there is only one They stand out in situations that require
answer or solution to a question or adapt to specific circumstances
problems. immediate.
They are relatively insensitive y When the theory and the project do not
they prefer to deal more with things that correspond to the facts set aside
with the people. the plan to the theory.
They can focus on problems They feel comfortable with people,
specific using one although sometimes they are seen as
hypothetical deductive reasoning. annoying.
They are trying to produce a point of view. They tend to solve problems in
of the present within a line of intuitive forms, relying on the
future security. information from others in their own
Her favorite question is: How analytical skills to get informed.
Does it work? A they reach conclusions
This learning style is precise, in the absence of justifications
characteristics of many engineers logics.
and of those who have interests Its objectives are to make things
technicians and specialize in sciences happen, bring the action to the concepts.
physics.
Her favorite question is: Yes? (What can
His primary interest is the need be this?)
to experience things for oneself
same. It is a learning style that
find in those who have acquired
technical training, practical like
businesses.
His primary interest lies in adapting the
learning to situations of their own
life to do more than what they learn.

5
 Contextual learning emphasizes the use of this learning process for
to reach all students. According to Kolb's studies, most of
students tend to learn in a concrete way.
According to individual differences, all abilities of
Learning needs to make connections, that is, learning is cumulative.
Generally, the individual does not retain isolated information nor does they process it.
information without meaning, that is, the individual makes connections and establishes
relationships and realizes what he knows and what he does not know.

This experience of learning mathematics in a concrete experience, in a context,

in cooperative learning, it gives meaning and sense to the knowledge that
acquire.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING

When we all contribute and work

together the fruit is better
One of the fundamental principles of working with this methodology is its
work through the interaction of students in small groups. The students
they exchange opinions, listen to each other, help each other to carry out activities
together. Each member of each group fulfills different roles, the
which must be rotational so that each of them fulfills at some point
the different roles in the group. This rotation helps to have a complete overview
of each of the functions that must be fulfilled when working in a team.
The structuring of cooperative learning involves much more than
organize a group of students in a tight space and instruct them to help each other.
The people responsible for CORD define cooperative learning as:
Cooperative learning: 'a learning process in small groups that
maximize the learning of all group members through: sharing
elements, mutual support and the celebration of joint success.2
Cooperation sometimes has negative results due to the absence of
certain conditions that affect their efficiency. These conditions are the
essential components that make cooperative efforts more
more productive than competitive and individual efforts. These components
the essentials are the following:
1. Heterogeneous learning teams, Face to Face;
2. Well-defined positive interdependence, we instead of I;

2
Implementation Manual for Applied Mathematics Seminars, Cord Communications, Waco, Texas
1995

6
 3. Individual Responsibility and Well-defined Personal Responsibility to Achieve
the group's goals;
4. Frequent use of Interpersonal Skills and in small groups;
5. Processing by the group.
For a group to be cooperative, there must be a
well-defined positive interdependence and the members must promote
learning and the success of each one, face to face, making sure that everyone is
individual and personally responsible for their equitable share from the load of
work, use interpersonal skills and small groups effectively and
process how effective collective work is. These five essential components
mentioned above make learning in small groups sea
truly cooperative.
Students, when working with this methodology, can carry out a series of
activities within this cooperative learning process such as:
Ask your classmates questions
Conduct the reading of the module in a group
Form work trios related to the readings and comments on the video.
Develop skills together, exercising until those who are working have
learned
Compare the answers of your exercises or assignments.
Helping each other to read, meaning that one reads to the other.

Do work to prepare for the tests

Prepare report
Solve problems
Working as a team, being clear about each person's responsibilities
from the group
Helping to clarify concepts, skills, problem-solving, etc.
In relation to cooperative learning, it is important to know others
definitions from other researchers. Some of these definitions may be:
In the Spanish magazine of Pedagogy, in the article cooperative learning and
the moral development of Pedro Ortega R and others is expressed: 'While the students
they have to interact in an individualistic and competitive school context, it is
it is risky to expect from them attitudes and social behaviors that manifest
in the respect and acceptance of ethnic and culturally differences: it is thought that in
a context of cooperative social interaction could contribute significantly to providing
response to the posed problems, by facilitating such context the interaction between
students, mutual knowledge, interpersonal attraction, and the assumption of
responsibilities towards the others3These authors define learning
cooperative as:

3
Cooperative Learning and Moral Development, Spanish Journal of Pedagogy 206, Page 33.

7
Cooperative learning: it is the foundation of many programmed interventions both
for academic performance as well as for learning skills or
social skills, to the point that it has been one of the main cores
of psychoeducational research for more than two decades.
These definitions reaffirm the definition of cooperative learning given in
this model of Applied Mathematics of CORD.
All cooperative learning situations are a very good help.
to teach habits that contribute to the holistic development of students, such as
for example:
When one speaks, others listen.
Working in a group means: everyone carries out some responsible activity.
Ask for help when necessary and convenient.
Always ask, don't stay with doubts. Your question can help the
other members of the group.
Accept criticism from others and know how to give constructive criticism.
Working in a group means supporting each other and that the group is a whole.
It allows all students to work at their own learning pace.

Cooperative Learning allows students to use a language that

commonly they use daily and for this reason communication is easier among
they, this allows for more meaningful and contextualized learning.
It also helps them strengthen their personal weaknesses such as: expressing their
ideas, safety in speaking, reading aloud.
The learning of sharing, responding, helping each other, and communicating with peers
without difficulty, through cooperation is the pedagogical strategy that supports by
a part of this program.. The experience of doing the work with cooperation
not only helps most students learn some content
thematic also gives them strength to better face their later
work world and life when facing the social world.
Cooperative work as the pillar of this program, states the proposal.
educational proposed by the Ministry of Education in relation to the objectives
transversal aspects that must permeate the educational system. Respect, solidarity, the
listening to each other, security, helping each other, accepting one another and vice versa, are pillars
fundamentals of the fundamental objectives that are embedded in this program.
Sometimes the term cooperative is used to refer to behavior
observable of the student in the learning situation in the classroom. Logically
it would seem reasonable to assume that, given a structure of the cooperative objective, a
a student with a cooperative trait or disposition would act in an altruistic way and
elevating the group. That is to say, the mutual objective and actions would be accepted.
they would clearly contribute to the objective.
According to the International Encyclopedia of Education, in relation to this
It is believed that there are few doubts regarding the cooperation considered

8
as a teaching strategy, it usually has positive results on the
performance and on social relationships.

Some results promoted by cooperative learning

Cooperative learning in the classroom promotes some outcomes such as:
Students have a more positive attitude towards teachers.
Higher self-esteem of students
Greater motivation, which implies greater participation.
Students have a better relationship with their peers

Regarding a situation, there is more skill to analyze it and understand it.

perspective of others
The students have a positive attitude towards the other subjects.
Students achieve better results
Students acquire greater collaboration skills. necessary for
work with others
Students use different reasoning strategies to solve the
problems

These results are promoted by cooperative learning. son

fundamentals in the model used by Applied Mathematics to achieve results
positives in front of one of the pillars that supports this model.

Basic elements of cooperative learning

Cooperative learning according to Johnson and Johnson, present five
basic elements. Each of these elements mentioned earlier is
highlighted below:

A. POSITIVE INTERDEPENDENCE
It is necessary for students to feel that they need each other to do the
group tasks. That they 'save themselves or drown together'. some ways to create this
sound environment: mutual objectives, joint rewards, sharing materials and
information, role assignment.
B. FACE TO FACE INTERACTION
It is necessary for groups to have patterns of interaction and verbal exchange.
examples: oral summaries to the rest of the group, reciprocal explanations.
C. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

9
The group will not achieve its goal until all members individually
they have learned the material and understood the task. It's important to emphasize
frequently and evaluate individual learning so that group members
they can help each other. Some ways to achieve this may be to give each
student individual exam or designate a member to give the answer of the
group.
D. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AND IN SMALL GROUPS
Students do not come to school with the skills they need to collaborate.
effectively among them, so that the teachers are in charge of
teach them the skills to communicate, lead, be reliable, make decisions
and manage conflicts. With the actual functioning of groups, students have the
motivation to use these skills.
E. GROUP PROCESSES
It means giving students the time and procedures to analyze how
the groups are working and how they are using social skills
necessary. This process helps students achieve accomplishments while
they maintain effective working relationships among the members. Feedback already
both from the teacher and from other observers can help effectiveness
of this process.
These five essential basic elements presented, are the basis
fundamental of cooperative work, which is one of the pillars of the model used
for Applied Mathematics.

Development of social habits

When the student is faced with learning situations
cooperative, this model indicates that it is a good opportunity to teach habits
social. These habits are related to:
When working in a group, some students may end up without a task.
assigned. If this happens, encourage him to join the group and support him.
All the students in the group must ask for help from others when they need it.
they need. With the student's request, the rest of the
group.
Students should ask themselves questions to understand the reasoning or path.
used.
Students must be able to critique the rest of the group and accept the critiques.
criticism from others.
Students must understand that they all make up a group and therefore
They must support each other in order to support themselves as a whole.

Students must be able to listen to each other, respecting one another.

so that when one speaks, the rest listens.
When students work in groups, it is important that they have a small
pleasant moment for learning to be easier and more enjoyable.

10
 Contextual Learning

Learning with concrete and real situations,

knowledge is more permanent and
significant
Learning has an accumulative nature. The mind normally does not
retains aspects, isolated information ideas, unless connections are made or
establish relationships. Although students exhibit different types of
individual differences in learning styles, all abilities of
learning needs to achieve a connection.
Cumulative learning is experienced by the student by connecting it to real life.
with their experience. The student experiments, develops joint activities and
solves problematic situations where they are faced with having to unite everything
these aspects. The connection is easier and more efficient, meaningful and lasting
Applying this approach to the teaching of mathematics, the learning in
Context must be structured in different ways to stimulate it. Daniel M.
Hull refers in his book Opening Minds Opening Doors to these different
learning methods in context such as:
Relationship: learning in the context of real-life experiences.
Transfer: learning in the context of existing knowledge starting
from what the student already knows.
Application: Learning context of how knowledge can be used and the
information
Experimentation: Learning from the context of exploration, discovery
and the invention
Cooperation: Learning the context of sharing and communicating with the
companions.4

This contextual learning should be kept in mind in teaching.

applying this model, since learning occurs when the individual connects
any present experience, with experiences already lived. Furthermore, each individual
it has a wide variety of methods to process the basic information for the
learning, that is to say, different learning styles must be taken into account and
learning rhythms.
Students or anyone retains knowledge and/or skills
when in your opinion the content and skills will be useful and valuable, that is
when they make sense to him and he can realize that they could be useful to him in the future.
CORD researchers have defined Contextual Learning as:

4
Daniel M. Hull, Opening Minds Opening Doors. The Rebirth of American Education. Cord
Communication, Waco, TX. 1993

11
 Contextual Learning: "They are the learning processes that manage to fulfill the
process of teaching/ learning knowledge, skills, and attitudes within the
context of tangible, useful, and meaningful applications for personal, social life and
occupational5
Other authors define contextual learning as:
Contextual Learning: "The student immerses themselves in a context that gradually
Throughout the action of the game, it imbues an environment, generating a learning experience.
This allows for the valuation of the individual by bringing them closer to real characters and
concrete situations6.
Contextual Learning: 'It is the set of data related to the content of'
dream, which constitutes the material for a further amplification of the image
dreamlike.7
The definition of contextual learning by CORD coincides with
fundamental with the other definitions presented, that is to say the student learns in a
context giving it a sense and a meaning for him.
According to contextual learning theory, learning occurs when the
student processes the information in such a way that it makes sense within a framework of
reference, that is to say the student's mind seeks meaning in the context,
making relationships that make sense and seem useful to him.

5
Implementation Manual for Applied Mathematics Seminars, Cord Communications, Waco Texas,
1995.
6
Antonio Ramón Bartolomé, Multimedia Systems in Education, Barcelona 1994
7
Dictionary of Psychology

12
According to psychologist William Glasser, he says that people learn:
10% of what we read.
20% of what we hear.
30% of what we see.
50% of what we hear and see.
70% of what is discussed with others.
80% of what we experience personally.
We teach 90% of what we learn to someone.

ROLES OF STUDENTS IN COOPERATIVE WORK

When considering teamwork, taking into account the different rhythms of
learning and learning styles, understanding, the responsibility of the
different roles that each student must fulfill with this work.
As a result of teamwork, the students present different
behavioral changes, such as: more supportive, more responsible, more critical,
more participative, greater responsibility in their learning, more respectful among
their peers and with the teacher, more tolerance for individual differences and rhythms of
learning
When working in a team, students must assume different roles, which they
teachers must always be attentive so that each of them achieves their role. These
roles can be classified in different ways, such as:
The materials manager of the group: is the student who takes care of
request, receive and deliver the necessary materials for your group to develop
the activity or laboratory.
The Secretary: is the student who takes care of recording the requested information
at work.
The Presenter: is the student who represents their group in front of their class by telling
your results and/or comments related to the activity.
The Calculator: is the student who performs the mathematical calculations and presents them.
to his group
The Writer: is the student responsible for writing the poster or transparency.
according to what was requested.
The Facilitator: is the student who cares that all their classmates
the group carries out the requested work
Regarding the roles that students must fulfill with the work in
team, the teacher should make a commitment to their students. An example
of commitment could be the following:

13
TO WORK AS A TEAM WE COMMIT TO:

Listen with Attention (Empathy) I must try to understand,

understand what other colleagues mean, be sensitive to
his gestures, voice, and points of view.
My punctuality and my attendance are important, therefore I am a
person in the group who must arrive on time and not miss because my
contributions are important.
I must be discreet, everyone in the group must make comments on
the group and thus we will achieve trust.
I must respect the opinions of others even if they differ from mine.
Mine. That is to say, each experience is valid and everyone's opinions count.
deserves respect.
I am responsible for myself. I must be responsible for what I receive and
I give to the group.

I will talk about what I think, feel, and need to do. In other words, I...
I take responsibility for my actions.
I must express what is happening to me. I must make the group feel it.
what is happening to me.

ROLE OF THE TEACHER

One of the most important aspects of cooperative learning is
identify the students who have difficulties working effectively due to
the absence of some of the cooperative skills.
The teaching of cooperative skills consists of five steps which are the
next:
Make students understand what skill is and when it should be.
employee.
Make the students realize the need to acquire the skill.
Establish practical situations and foster mastery of the skill.
Allow students to have the time and procedures necessary.
to train on the use of the skill.
Make the students practice the skill so that they acquire it as a
natural action.

14
 In cooperative and contextual learning, students have to fulfill
with interpersonal skills and in small groups and having motivation
suitable for their use. These skills must be taught with the same degree of
systematization than the academics. It is very important learn the skills
necessary to work cooperatively with other people.

VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Roberto Araya. Visual Construction of Knowledge with Cooperative Games,
University Editorial, 1997.
Antonio Bartolomé Piña, Article obtained from the Internet: Multimedia Systems in
Education.
Fernández, P and Melero, M.A., Social Interaction in Educational Contexts:
Twenty-first century, Comps, 1995.

Firiedrieclt Dorsch, Dictionary of Psychology, Herder Publishing, Barcelona 1978.

Johnson and Johnson. Cooperation in the classroom, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Prentice Hall, 1986.
Daniel M Hull. Opening mind and opening doors. The Rabirth of American
Education. Cord Communications, Waco, Texas, 1993.
Dan Hull. Open Your Mind and You Will Open the Doors to the Future, Cord Communications.
Waco Texas, 1999.
Applied Mathematics Implementation Manual, Cord Communications,
Waco, Texas, 1995.
Spanish Journal of Pedagogy 206, Valencia, 1997.
Torsten Husen. International Encyclopedia of Education. Vicens Editorial
Vives, Volunen 2, 1989.
Consuelo Undurraga and Marianela Varas. Towards a learning model of
adults in training. Article, PSYKHE-Volume 4, No. 1, 1995.

15