Using large number estimation problems in primary education classrooms to introduce mathematical modelling

Abstract

In this work we study the development of mathematical models by students in the upper cycle of Primary Education (10 and 11 years old) to Large Number Estimation Problems. After a qualitative analysis of their output, we found that, when students worked on problems in teams, they used strategies including the development of mathematical models such as the grid distribution, the iteration of a reference point model, or population density. The results obtained allow us to argue that the use of Large Number Estimation Problems is a suitable activity for introducing mathematical modelling processes in Primary School classrooms. In previous studies (Albarracín & Gorgorió, 2013; 2014; 2018; Gallart, Ferrando, García-Raffi, Albarracín, & Gorgorió, 2017), we have analysed the solving strategies proposed by Secondary School students (ages 12-16) to solve Large Number Estimation Problems (LNEP). These studies show that students solve these problems by proposing their own strategies, breaking them up into smaller problems and solving them separately (Albarracín & Gorgorió, 2014). Thus, LNEP are a subgroup of so-called Fermi Problems that we have verified to be a useful tool for introducing the modelling process in Secondary School classrooms (Albarracín & Gorgorió, 2013).