Historia y perspectivas del proyecto Matemática para la Enseñanza Media (MATEM) de la Universidad Nacional en Costa Rica

Abstract

MATEM is a university project that offers training and updating to Costa Rican teachers of Mathematics who work in secondary education, and provides academic as well as social college experiences to the participating
high school students. This paper describes some historical aspects of MATEM, its current operation and coverage, the academic products obtained in recent years, the perception of participating students and teachers and the positive aspects and benefits of it, among others. Some advantages of MATEM such as better prepared students to take university courses and to do their Mathematics bachillerato2 test, more critical and analytical people to solve daily problems and make decisions, more updated secondary school teachers, and more sensitive university professors towards the problem of the teaching of Mathematics in the country, among others, are also analyzed. The last section summarizes the overall achievements of the project and its impact in the university and the country, as well as the current perspectives used to respond to the demands of our country.