The Center for Mathematical Modeling of Universidad de Chile (CMM) welcomed 2015 with the organization of the first workshop about the use of videos as a tool to strengthen the mathematical training of Education students. With the participation of 30 academics from 10 universities, the meeting is a strong contribution to the next implementation of the project at a national level.
Carlos Álvarez, national coordinator of Elementary education at the Secretary of Education, attended the inauguration ceremony. He supported this workshop, specially considering the current changes on the Chilean education: “One of the greatest tasks of the educator is constantly learning. Thus, this workshop is very important for teachers, besides being an essential contribution to the education reform in the country.”
During the event, the director of the CMM Education Laboratory Salomé Martínez explained this activity seeks to improve the quality of teaching training based on the research conducted by the Center in classrooms: “It is a way to transfer the knowledge from schools to the university, giving the opportunity to reflect about practices at schools within an academic environment”.
The audiovisual material will be examined Education faculties during this year. “Here, modern techniques will be tested. They can be transferred to other universities, which will be of great benefit for the education and research community”, pointed out Richard Weber, director of the Postgraduate School of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (FCFM, for its acronyms in Spanish).
Attendees highlighted the usefulness of the new material, as Claudia Cuesta, from Universidad de las Américas, explained: “It helped me to know what is happening in classrooms. It is very valuable, as my role is orienting my students towards that direction.”
Frey Navarro, lecturer at Universidad de Tarapacá, said: “It provided us with tools that we did not have. In addition, videos reflect a less utopic and closer to the reality perception that the one transmitted at university.”
With this workshop, which was held from 5th to 9th January 2015, the first phase of the project “Tools to strengthen the training of teachers in basic education based on experiences of teaching in classrooms” concluded. This one is financed by the Fondo de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (Fondef) of the Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica” (Conicyt).
