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Vol. 28 (2025): Publicación continua

Manifestation of Costa Rican elementary school students' algebraic thinking: structures and representations of generalization

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12802/relime.2025.28.e489
Published
2025-12-19

Abstract

Qualitative research was carried out with fourth- and sixth-grade students in Costa Rica after the pandemic in the context of a curricular reform incorporating elements of early algebra. The students completed a written questionnaire that included a generalization task based on the functional relationship . The objectives were oriented toward the analysis, description, and comparison (between grade levels) of the generalization representations and the structures of functional relationships patterns exhibited by the students. The findings, from a single work session, reveal that only half of the participants were able to generalize. They employed different forms of representation (predominantly verbal), with notable variations across grade levels. In sixth grade, a greater number of students accurately represented the underlying structure and demonstrated greater consistency in its use. Additional resources were also identified in the expression of generalization, such as generic examples and representations linked to indeterminacy.

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