Elena Castro-Rodríguez

What makes a task a problem in early childhood education

ABSTRACT This article begins with a theoretical discussion of the characteristics that a task should feature to be regarded as a mathematics problem suitable for pre-primary students. Those considerations are followed by a report of a classroom experience in which three problems involving quotative or partitive division were posed to pre-primary school children to determine the presence of otherwise of the respective characteristics. The findings show that the characteristics of pre-primary education problems depend on two factors: mathematical activity that engages children and a structure that favours both their understanding of the problem and the application and verification of the solutions.

Retos, profesores y alumnos con talento matemático

In this paper we reflect on the nature of the mathematical challenges and their important role in the care of students with mathematically talented students, and we insist on the possible roles that teachers can play. We stress the need for the math teacher achieve a specialized knowledge on formulating appropriate mathematical challenges, in order to identify and to encourage mathematically talented students in the classroom. We exemplify these ideas with specific challenges, showing teacher strategies used to formulate mathematical challenges around a specific content and how to sequence them.