Algebra is a fundamental branch of mathematics that can often be intimidating for high school students. This introduces abstract concepts that are apparently not based on concrete situations in the real world and, in addition, uses symbols and letters unknown to young people a priori.
On the other hand, algebra also requires students to develop certain skills related to abstract and symbolic thinking. That is, they have to learn to understand and manipulate symbols, identify patterns, and make connections between different algebraic concepts to appreciate the power of abstraction and symbolic representation.
All this is not only complex for students, but also for teachers. How do you have to teach algebra so that students are able to understand these concepts and relate them to other previously acquired mathematical knowledge? Is there an effective way to do it?
Today there are various tools that can help teachers in this work. This is the case, for example, of the visual representation of algebra, a mechanism that will reinforce the mathematical learning of secondary school students.
Over the last few years, various studies have shown that visual representation is a powerful tool for learning mathematics, as it provides a concrete and tangible way to understand mathematical concepts, which are generally more abstract.
This will not only provide students with the necessary skills to solve mathematical problems in the classroom and get motivated towards the subject, but it will also foster their logical reasoning ability, applicable to other areas of their lives.
The visual representation can be used in different areas of mathematics such as statistics or geometry. And, of course, also in algebra. From the study of the errors committed, the procedures carried out during the learning of algebra and taking into account the geometric and intuitive origin of algebra, teachers and specialists in didactics saw that visual representation is an effective strategy for algebraic learning.
For example, by plotting a linear equation on a Cartesian graph, students can visualize the relationship between two variables and understand how changes in one variable affect the other. But in addition, this teaching mechanism can also be used in more complex algebraic concepts, such as quadratic equations, operations with polynomials and even arithmetic progressions.
At this point, teachers may wonder how these activities should be designed to facilitate learning in the classroom. From tekman Education, an expert publisher in mathematics didactics, they have created ONMAT: a program aimed at making the teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools easier.
ONMAT is a high school mathematics program that was born with one objective: for adolescents to connect with mathematics. With ONMAT, students build mathematical knowledge and develop associated specific competencies through visual and manipulative representations of mathematical concepts, laws, and relationships, connecting abstraction with symbolic representation.
At ONMAT, teachers find all the materials, schedules and didactic guides to plan their mathematics classes, with already designed didactic sequences. Among all the activities available in ONMAT, teachers will be able to find visual demonstrations and manipulative activities designed so that students, guided by the teacher, build their own algebraic knowledge and walk towards abstraction starting from concrete situations, favoring the understanding of algebraic concepts. and their relationships.
Each of the activities and exercises incorporate information on the mathematical knowledge and skills that are worked on in the different exercises on the platform. In addition, each of them is linked to an evaluation rubric where the different levels of student performance are described so that teachers and students can evaluate or self-evaluate the learning process.
ONMAT collects all its activities, exercises, theoretical resources and materials (visual demonstrations, theoretical resources and videos, or calculation games, among others) on a digital platform, accessible to teachers and students. This makes it possible to project the activities from the platform and guide them in a large group.
