Improving the mathematics performance of students in elementary, middle school and high school is a pressing issue for Mexico, warn experts. They note that significant progress in the development of mathematical thinking has no magic formulas. Any program implemented today will only see results in a generation, that is, in 15 or 20 years, as the problem is structural.
They noted that while low levels of performance in the skills and competencies in this discipline are the result of multiple factors, initial teacher training is a key issue.
In the conference "Where is the teaching of mathematics headed?", researchers Carlos Bosch of the Metropolitan Autonomous University, Jose Antonio de la Peña of the Mathematics Research Center, and Samuel Gitler of the National College, agreed that one of the most important factors is improving teachers' knowledge of mathematical language.
Bosch said that according to the existing curriculum at the National School of Teachers, which trains future teachers, students receive only two semesters on teaching math, but they focus on the pedagogical methods that will develop their students in this field, not learning the subject matter itself. This means, he explained, that teachers in front of a class
"only have the knowledge that they managed to achieve in high school, and they are responsible for teaching everything from the way numbers are written to the application of operations and mathematical rules."At the event, which was also attended by the Secretary of High School Education, Rodolfo Tuirán Gutiérrez, De la Peña also emphasized that in Mexico there is a serious lack in scientific culture, which means that many parents do not have the knowledge to help with their children's learning.
He noted that currently at least 50 percent of our young people do not have the basic skills to function successfully in a modern society.
''It will take at least a generation to see a change, if you promote actions for the best results. Any other promise is a policy of fiction."He stressed that mathematics presents a paradox in the classroom, as it is one of the areas of training that most encourages reasoning and reflection, but at the same time it is the most rejected. Almost all students say they have no pleasant experiences with this discipline.
Moreover, he noted that learning math is a matter of understanding and not memorization, so improving the performance of students in this field "requires that teachers have better understanding."
Samuel Gitler, founder of the math education department at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of IPN, said that for forty years there have been efforts to improve the contents of math textbooks, but the effort has also faced setbacks. He emphasized that a key element to reversing the poor results of the students is
"to improve what we teach the teacher. It is urgent to increase the number of semesters that are dedicated to [mathematics] training, because the teacher, prior to his students, must first master a new language of words and symbols."Spanish original