Influencia del ajedrez en el desarrollo de las matemáticas en niños de sexto de básica de la Unidad Educativa “Hermano Miguel de la Salle"

Abstract

The academic performance in mathematics, which is a key subject in schools, has a low average score and disinterest by students due to lack of concentration, intuition, memory and other cognitive processes in school. Because of the above, we proposed that chess would be an effective tool for developing cognitive processes and stimulating student interest. The proposal aims to determine the contribution of the practice of chess to the development of mathematics, through a workshop where we taught the game of chess to eleven children of the sixth "B" Basic Education Unit "Hermano Miguel de la Salle" in the city of Cuenca for a period of two months. During this time, intelligence tests (Bady-G and Raven's Progressive Matrices), observation forms, surveys of students, parents and teachers grade were executed; thus showing an improvement in both average grades in mathematics, and in intelligence tests. The eleven students who attended (experimental group) significantly improved their overall intelligence and eduction; likewise, their academic performance in mathematics progressed compared with children who did not learn this discipline (control group). Therefore, it is advisable for students to practice chess not only to improve school performance but also to progress individually in their intelligence and reasoning skills.