Statistics has a preponderant role in the formation of competencies of students and citizens, since it allows us to analyze variables, design experiments, improve predictions, and provide elements for the decision-making process in different situations (Batanero and Godino, 2005). However, different investigations have found that statistics are used incorrectly, and apparently elemental concepts (such as the mean, median and mode) are not understood, which is why it has been suggested, among other activities, to develop "Learning from cooperative work with projects or activities of exploratory analysis of student data in the statistical class, supported by recent learning theories that highlight the value of social interaction and discourse in the construction of knowledge" (Batanero and Godino, 2005).
This project is currently undergoing and has as objective to design didactical materials for teaching and learning the topic of "Measures of central tendency" in the area of statistics for students in grade nine. The methodology for developing this material follows the heuristic principles of the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME): reinvention through progressive mathematization, didactical phenomenology, and self developed or emergent models. Data generated from an aquaculture production project will allow contextualize statistical problems for the grasping of statistical concepts. The contextualization of statistics in relation to the aquaculture sector considers the importance of this production sector for the economy of the region (Huila, Colombia) in which the project is developed.
The possibility of contextualizing statistical tools for decision making in a real environment is the starting point for establishing a link between students with their economic environment, and with the reality of the region where they live. The contextualization of mathematics and statistics in relation to the aquaculture sector follows the importance of this production sector to the economy of the department of Huila, Colombia. This region produces 44% of the country's total aquaculture production (SIOC, 2016). More than 50% of total tilapia production in Colombia occurs in the Betania reservoir with a production of 30,000 metric tons (Pulido et al. 2015).