BOOK REVIEW (DAVID)

"La Resolución de problemas matemáticos"

Hi everybody, today I'm going to talk about a book, called “La resolución de problemas matemáticos". This book shows us some methodologies and strategies teachers, but also students, must have in mind if the want to be successful in the maths subject. 

I have chosen to do the review of this book, because I think a big part of teacher students are afraid of teaching maths subject. So, sharing some ideas from this book to my colleges, it's a great way to help them to confront the maths learning and teaching process.

This book was written by José Antonio Fernández Bravo. He is a professor in the "UNED", and he teaches maths to the former teachers.  Also, he is studying about how the teaching and learning processes in the subject of maths should be upgrade. 

I'm going to talk about the main important features, that shocked me, and that I didn't know about the teaching of the maths didactics. 

One of the significant features it's the understanding of the learning of maths as a mental activity, related with the thinking process. In addition, he highlights the first steps of the students, because they are fundamental in order to create the first concepts and relationships. 

He talks about different procedures to attend their student's calculus needs. These procedures use challenges to motivate students, and to make them being more involved in the exercise. The actions that involve all these procedures are; interpreting, understanding, calculing, and thinking. These actions and procedures are essential in the teaching and learning processes if we want to achieve a scaffolding, and progressive learning. 

In brief, it talks about the importance of using contextualized and real activities, in order to motivate students. Also, we must use problem-solving exercise. These problem-solving exercises helps students to participate more, and to increase their self-confidence. However, if we want to be successful in our teaching process, we must look for initiative, creativity, concentration, and finally the assimilation on the techniques. 

"El verdadero problema se plantea en la enseñanza de las matemáticas, no es el de rigor sino el de la construcción del sentido" (Thom en Piaget, Choquet y otros, 1978:148).

Finally, I want to conclude this book review, giving a mark of 8/10. Because, if we read this carefully, we will be able to understand better the manner about how students learn, and comprehend maths.