Conexiones entre Representaciones Visuales y Estrategias de Resolución en Tareas de Generalización de Patrones Lineales

Source abstract

The aim of this study is to identify how the use of different types of visual representations in the statements of linear pattern generalization tasks influences the generalization strategies employed by 11- and 12-year-old students. To this end, three questionnaires were designed, each consisting of a sequence of three tasks with five items and administered to three different groups of 20 students. Based on the students’ written responses, the generalization strategies used in each item are identified, as well as their evolution throughout the task sequence. The results reveal differences in the strategies activated depending on the type of visual representation used in the task statements and provide evidence of stable connections between specific visual configurations and the generalization strategies adopted by students. In particular, the representation with which the sequence begins conditions the strategy activated as an initial reference and guides either the progression or stagnation toward forms of distant generalization, directly affecting students’ ability to respond to the more complex demands of the tasks.