Diseño de experimentos con material didáctico concreto: refuerzo para el aprendizaje de operaciones básicas con números racionales en primero de bachillerato.

Abstract

This study focused on addressing the difficulties faced by first-year high school students at Roberto Rodas High School in understanding and applying basic operations with rational numbers. A pre-experimental design was employed, involving a group of 21 students and one teacher. Initially, a diagnostic evaluation was conducted to identify the students' primary challenges in working with these numbers. To enhance comprehension and retention of these concepts, a pedagogical intervention was designed and implemented, centered on the use of concrete materials in experiments. This approach, framed within self-directed learning and constructivism, aimed to foster active construction of mathematical knowledge through object manipulation and student interaction. Subsequently, instructional guides with a sequence of learning activities were designed to facilitate visualization and understanding of concepts. Following the intervention, students demonstrated improved comprehension of concepts, enhanced ability to apply operations, and a more positive attitude towards mathematics. Additionally, an increase in their capacity for collaborative work and autonomous problem-solving was evident. To evaluate the impact of the intervention, a survey and post-test were administered to the 21 students. The collected data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. This research demonstrates that the use of concrete materials in practical activities can be an effective strategy for improving student learning in high school. By allowing students to visualize concepts tangibly, it facilitates the long-term construction of their knowledge.