Methodology with an onto-semiotic approach for teaching statistics in the first cycle of primary education

Abstract

Introduction: this article addresses the need to organize statistics teaching in the first cycle of primary education through a methodology based on the ontosemiotic approach, in response to the lack of coherence among curriculum guidelines, textbooks, and classroom practices in the Colombian context. Methodology: a theoretical-methodological design with quasi-experimental validation was used. The methodology was structured into a theoretical apparatus, grounded in the historical-cultural and ontosemiotic approaches, and an instrumental apparatus composed of didactic criteria, epistemic and cognitive suitability descriptors, guidelines, and protocols. Its practical validity was examined with third-grade students in Cali, Colombia, through pedagogical tests administered before and after the intervention. Results and discussion: the initial comparison showed equivalence between the experimental and control groups. After the intervention, both groups improved; however, the experimental group achieved significantly higher results in eight of the eleven epistemic suitability descriptors, especially those related to problematization, argumentation, statistical language, and the articulation of statistical meanings. Conclusions: in the context studied, the proposed methodology is a relevant didactic alternative for promoting statistical competence in primary education, since it helps align curriculum, evaluation, and classroom practice through contextualized, progressive, and socially mediated statistical activities.