El material Montessori: de la vida práctica a la mente matemática.

Abstract

In the industry of didactic teaching materials, Montessori material has been established in a significant way as a possibility of providing children with different tools, so that they learn better and without trauma the contents of the school subject that cul-turally has been considered of greatest difficulty: mathematics. This reflection paper, derived from the review of the field, aims to make an analysis of the material within the framework of the scientific pedagogy method proposed by María Montessori at the beginning of the 20th century, emphasizing its specific contribution to the learning of mathematics in preschool children and in elementary school. The material used in the segments of practical life and sensory life will be reviewed, as well as deepen into the specialized material for the development of the mathematical mind, to show how the proposal of María Montessori’s method supposes an opportune path to take the children from the concrete representations of mathematical objects to the elevation of the mind —that allows them to build abstractions—. Finally, a dialogue is established about the validity of Montessori’s material in the school from research that has promoted its use in mathematics classrooms, and the possibility of including the material in the training of mathematics teachers to strengthen their didactic knowledge is highlighted.