This study shows the qualitative construction of a Referential Cognitive Graduate Profile (RCGP) for the Computer Engineering program of the University of Bernardo O'Higgins (UBO) in Chile, based on the theory of Mental Self-Governance and by using three data-gathering methods: document analysis, interviews, and questionnaires, reflecting the professional competencies expected by the end of the training, set forth by both the institution and program management. The proposed model allows to contrast the different thinking styles (TSs) found with the ones preferred by students in different levels of formation independently. With this purpose in mind, by using a quantitative methodology, 88% of male students in the program completed the questionnaires to determine these preferences, enabling us to perform a correspondence analysis through Fisher's exact test. The RCGP results show evident preference for the legislative, executive, hierarchical, and external styles of thinking and clear differences between the preferences of students and of the RCGP. Finally, we discuss about various ways to create new means to strengthen and upgrade both the program's graduate profile and the RCGP with the purpose of benefitting the formation of Computer Engineers and the future of the RCGP model.

The objective of this research is to get students to mean the mathematical objects related to the second order differential equation through the context of a physical phenomenon. With the support of the physical system of the simple pendulum, the behavior of the angular position is studied in a modelling process with the help of simulators. From variational thought and language as a line of research of socio-epistemology in mathematics education, activities that promote a modelling process in a differential equations course for students in initial training for teaching mathematics are designed, implemented, and analyzed. The results of the process experienced by the students are presented, such as: familiarization of the phenomenon, use and interpretation of the simulations, construction of the mathematical model and its predictive role for decision making. It was identified that the students’ experiences, as well as the physical context, were determining elements for success in the resolution of the design.

The research on which we report in this paper was framed within the socioepistemological theory and dealt with the fundamental role of variational practices in the understanding of COVID-19 pandemic graphs. Given the proliferation of mathematical graphs related to the pandemic in the media, we proposed to analyse the variational practices in use in the interpretation of graphs of exponential behaviour that a Chilean newscast of high rating used to inform the population about the pandemic in Chile. For this purpose, a thematic analysis intertwined with documentary analysis techniques was carried out, in order to describe the types of graphs shown in the newscast, and a variational reference system was studied to analyse the use of variational practices. To obtain our results, the types of graphs most frequently shown in the newscast at the beginning of the pandemic were identified and the use of the variational practices of comparison, seriation and prediction in such graphs was analysed. In conclusion, the need is discussed for the conceptual evolution of the exponential function to be accompanied by a pragmatic evolution in school that favours the use and development of variational practices in the student body.

One way to contribute to the strengthening of professional training processes in Engineering is through teaching and evaluation methods physics courses that promote those thinking styles that should be preferred by an engineer to solve tasks of their profession. Based on the above, the objective of this research was to identify those thinking styles that ideally a graduate of industrial civil engineering from a certain Chilean university should prefer to perform their profession tasks. Responding to this objective, it will be possible to generate educational proposals in physics courses for that career. For this, a qualitative methodology called thematic analysis was used. The data sources were semi-structured interviews with academics with enough experience in the career, besides the analysis of the institutional graduation profile. From a deductive perspective, according to the thinking styles, the ideal preferences for the egislative, judicial, global, hierarchical, liberal and external styles emerged as a result. Finally, a discussion was held on some teaching and evaluation methods that can be carried out in the physics courses of this career in order to promote these thinking styles.

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