Cognitive Demand for Educational Standards and Textbooks for Algebra Teaching in Honduras

Abstract

This work is oriented to assess the alignment or coherence, in a cognitive demand level; between the educational standards and the tasks or activities proposed by official textbooks, for teaching mathematics within 7th, 8th and 9th grades in basic education in Honduras. If an authentic alignment between the educational standards, textbooks and the evaluations is ensured, this shall be helpful in the improvement of curriculum implementation processes; it asses in a more realistic way the results of evaluations and come out with a higher degree of assertion in the elements that require attention and make teachers part of the improvement process. With the help of twenty Math Honduran teachers, with vast experience in these grades and, applying the Webb alignment model criterion we classified, according to the level of cognitive demand, thirty standards of the algebra block and 110 questions or items of the national evaluation tests. This classification worked as a reference to sort 1912 algebra tasks or activities proposed by official textbooks and standards for teaching math in the studied grades. The results show that there is no adequate alignment or coherence at the level of cognitive demand in the algebra block between these two pieces of the curriculum: Education Standards and Textbooks in the third cycle of basic education in Honduras. We consider that the methodology used can be useful to extend it to other math blocks, as well as to other areas of basic education.

Keywords:
Alignment; Educational Standards; Textbooks; Cognitive Demand; Algebra