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The Sumo Primero initiative, developed through CMMEdu, was highlighted by the Secretary of State as an innovative contribution to strengthening mathematics education.
At the ceremony of the annual results of the System for Measuring the Quality of Education (SIMCE), held last Thursday 6 in Quinta Normal, the Minister of Education, Nicolás Cataldo Astorga, mentioned in his speech the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) of the University of Chile as a support in strengthening the teaching of mathematics at the school level in Chile.
“The educational system will have a single catalog of school textbooks from first to sixth grade, called Sumo Primero, with the aim of promoting its use as a key tool for improvement. In this sense, the Mineduc, with the support of the Center for Mathematical Modeling of the University of Chile, will strengthen the accompaniment of management and teaching teams, offering an innovative model for the teaching of mathematics. In this framework, we will also use the benefits of artificial intelligence and new technologies to support teachers in the use of this text”, Minister Cataldo said.
The Sumo Primero project corresponds to the translation and adaptation to the Chilean curriculum of the Japanese text ‘Mathematics for Primary School’ by Professor Masami Isoda of the University of Tsukuba, which promotes the teaching of mathematics supported by a methodology based on problem solving and is part of the textbooks that the State distributes free of charge to public schools.
Sumo Primero aims to be a key resource to strengthen the teaching and learning of mathematics in Chile through an approach based on problem solving and the development of mathematical thinking, seeking to improve the learning of 1,350,000 students from 1st to 6th grade, supporting the work of 30,000 teachers.
Given the previous collaborative work, the Ministry of Education called on the CMM Education Laboratory (CMMEdu) to lead this project. Salomé Martinez Salazar, director of CMMEdu, commented that “for more than 10 years we have collaborated with the Ministry in different projects related to teacher training and also the development of educational resources. This work has been consolidating a form of collaboration and extensive networks throughout Chile that allows us to take on this new initiative. Since 2020 we have been collaborating with the Ministry in the development of the Sumo Primero collection”.
“This initiative”, emphasized the researcher, ‘will allow us to involve many people from different areas in this work with Sumo Primero, generating and capitalizing on many experiences of those who train teachers and of course of the teaching teams themselves throughout Chile’.
By Iván Tobar Bocaz, journalist, Center for Mathematical Modeling, CMM, Concepción.
Posted on Apr 1, 2025 in News
