Abstract:

This paper summarizes the findings in a study conducted with high school mathematics teachers from public and private schools in Puerto Rico, on the impact of mathematics competitions as an activity to support the mathematics teaching process.

Mathematics competitions have shown remarkable growth in recent years, forming an immense global network that involves students, teachers, and organizations. Some authors consider that Mathematics competitions help identify students with greater Mathematics skills, motivating them to develop their talents and discover their professional vocation. Others think that Mathematics competitions can play a positive or negative role as a teaching strategy.

The study presented is part of a larger study that was carried out to compare the perception of mathematics teachers in Switzerland, the UK and Puerto Rico. More than 200 teachers from Puerto Rico participated in this study and this allowed drawing some particularly interesting conclusions for the case of teachers from Puerto Rico.

The work discusses the perception that mathematics teachers have about the participation or not of students in mathematics competitions. The advantages and disadvantages of this participation for both students and teachers.

The main objective is to understand and characterize the vision that mathematics teachers in Puerto Rico have about mathematical competitions and the participation of their students in them, as a pedagogical strategy to support the teaching of mathematics. The study aims to analyze the impact that mathematics competitions have on teachers and their students as part of teaching-learning strategies.

Keywords:

Mathematics, Competitions, International.