Virtual gallery of mathematical problems: Cooperative learning, interaction, and socialization

Abstract

The importance of cooperative learning lies in its improvement of social skills, comprehension, retention and motivation, preparing students for teamwork environments in the professional world. This article describes the implementation of cooperative activities in mathematics education in a university setting. Specifically, it addresses the creation of a virtual gallery of problems and exercises. It describes the tasks that are assigned to students in two courses: in Operational Investigation, where they are to create a virtual gallery of mathematical modeling problems, and in Discrete Mathematics, where they must create a virtual gallery of exercises on ordered sets and lattices. A quasi-experimental quantitative study has been developed. Details are provided on how the activities were structured, including the contribution of each student with problems of varying levels of difficulty and the detailed presentation of instructions on how to create and present the problems. The findings related to the problem gallery are presented, including critical incidents, an analysis of grades and student perception of the activity, highlighting the improved comprehension of concepts and skill development, as well as interaction among students during the activity. The results obtained are analyzed and it is concluded that the cooperative activities were effective for learning mathematics, emphasizing the importance of clear instructions, the equal contribution of students and the socialization of knowledge as key elements for the success of these initiatives.