Resolución de problemas aritméticosconocimiento conceptual y nivel de competencia en matemáticas
- Orrantia Rodríguez, José
- Múñez Méndez, David
- María Fernández Sánchez
- Matilla Cordero, Laura
ISSN: 0210-2773
Year of publication: 2012
Volume: 40
Issue: 3
Pages: 23-32
Type: Article
More publications in: Aula abierta
Abstract
Before formal schooling, children solve word problems with informal strategies modeling directly the situation described in the text of the problem. When problems do not allow to use such strategies, children need to apply the conceptual knowledge (commutativity, inversion...) needed to solve the problem. In the current study, students of secondary education (12 to 13 years old) with/without mathematical difficulties and undergraduate students (19 to 21 years old) solved word problems in two versions involving the same wording. The first version could be solved by modeling the situation described (SI problems), and in the second version children needed to use their conceptual knowledge (CC problems). Results indicated that, despite the reduced difficulty of the problems, SI problems were easier to solve than CC problems for all the participants. Furthermore, this effect was even much more pronounced for secondary education students with mathematical difficulties. These findings suggest two conclusions. First, after years of experience solving problems, students (even adults) avoid using their conceptual knowledge if they can use a strategy that models directly the situation. Secondly, less proficient students show a rigid and inefficient use of the conceptual knowledge needed to solve arithmetic problems even when procedural knowledge is available.
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