Abstract

GONZALEZ DE GALINDO, S.  and  VILLALONGA DE GARCIA, P.. Metacognición: Design of a curriculum material for mass classrooms. Rev. electrón. investig. educ. cienc. [online]. 2010, vol.5, n.2, pp.58-68. ISSN 1850-6666.

Teachers of Mathematics I, first-year course of a Faculty of Science, are facing problems created by mass classes, which affect the quality of teaching and learning assessment. This work is a step in the project "Didactic strategy which emphasizes the continuous regulation of learning in mass classes of Mathematics' by the Research Council of the National University of Tucuman. The overall objective of this work is to integrate regulation in learning situations, designing activities that do not require continuous intervention of the teacher and encourage social interaction. To achieve this we designed a teaching strategy that resorts to the use of curricular material developed ad hoc. This strategy seeks to promote meaningful learning, enhance the continuous regulation of learning and help overcome the practice of learning assessment existing in these classrooms, currently limited to only summative assessments. A theoretical framework based on cognitive approaches was developed. From it criteria for teaching and learning assessment were derived. This article introduces the description of the curriculum material. It develops the unit "Limit of a function" and provides an example of one of the teaching strategies to implement in the classroom. In developing the material were considered guidelines provided by: Sanchez and Valcarcel(1993); González Giménez and Gómez Macías (2001); Bixio(2005); Arcavi (1999); Jorba and Casellas (1997), and Flores et al.(2004). The presentation of content intended that students experience a gradual approach to mathematical rigor and the promotion of understanding, the identification of basic concepts, the connections between different mathematical contents, the development of synthesis and the conversion between different registers of semiotic representation. Emphasis was placed on activities to promote metacognition and regulation of learning, a number of instruments being designed for this purpose. Material was validated by expert opinion, considering as categories of analysis the parameters established in the work of Flores and others. Then, from the results and suggestions received, the amendments were made that were considered relevant.

Keywords : Metacognition; Curriculum material; Mass classrooms.