Resumo

ARIAS TENCIO, Floria  e  RODRIGUEZ RAMIREZ, Kattia. Mathematics in high school education from the perspective of freshmen at the University of Costa Rica. Paradígma [online]. 2014, vol.35, n.2, pp.129-154. ISSN 1011-2251.

This study presents the perceptions of freshman students regarding their mathematical preparation during their secondary school years (ages 13 to 17) in Costa Rica.  The following aspects were investigated:  patterns of instructions, the learning of mathematics, the instructor’s role, and the learners’ role.  This investigation is a follow-up of a prior study, namely, “The Characterization of the Mathematical Preparation in Secondary School of the Students Taking the Course MA-0125: Elementary Mathematics at the University of Costa Rica”, conducted during 2010-2011, which examined teaching practices in mathematics at the secondary level in order to find out possible causes for student failure in this course.  Based on the researchers’ experience and the review of the literature, a number of indicators were proposed to obtain the students’ perceptions about them.  The findings show the strong presence of math classes nearly devoid of continuous, systematic learning experiences to help students build meaningful mathematical concepts and meaning learning experiences, based on a constructivist approach.

Palavras-chave : classroom instruction pattern; learning of mathematics; interactions student- teacher; Mathematical Education in Costa Rica; secondary-tertiary transition.

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