Objective:

Characterize the difficulties that Dominican teachers face when designing mathematical tasks that promote the procedural development of variation and change processes in the sixth grade of secondary education.

Methods:

A non-experimental, cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out in the Educational District 08-03 of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. 18 mathematics teachers participated, to whom semi-structured interviews were applied to explore their knowledge of mathematical content and preferences in task design. The didactic structures of the mathematical tasks designed by the teachers were also analysed, both for class work and for independent study.

Result:

Although teachers demonstrated confidence in their ability to address content related to processes of variation and change in sixth grade, difficulties were identified in task design. The lack of objective clarity, the repetition of analogous problems, the limited use of semiotic registers, the little use of strategies that encourage the formulation of questions and the exchange of ideas between students and poor planning were some factors that gave rise to debates.

Conclusion:

To overcome these difficulties, professional training actions are recommended that delve into mathematical concepts such as variation and change, as well as strategies for their effective teaching. Encourage collaboration between teachers to share teaching resources and successful experiences in task design, and implement digital tools that allow the creation of simulations, interactive graphics and other ways to represent concepts such as variation and change.