Atitudes em relação à matemática e estratégias em resolução de problemas: uma possível articulação?

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how the attitudes towards mathematics and problem solving strategies are articulated. The participants of this study were 25 students of 2nd year of a state school of Ensino Normal, the city of Cornélio Procópio/Paraná. The instruments used for data collection were: informative questionnaire, scale of attitudes towards mathematics and mathematics test composed by problems. After application of the latter instrument, some students were selected from their score on the attitude scale to redo the test "thinking aloud". With the data, the solving problems records of participants, we sought to find evidence to see how (and if) the attitudes towards mathematics interfere with the way students prepare solving problem strategies. The results indicated that while solving problems not only cognitive knowledge was being required, but also emotional aspects that influence the actual "thinking" mathematician. Moreover, it is concluded that the attitudes toward math and problem solving strategies are articulated, and strategies that led to the problem of response have always been used by students who had positive attitudes. Thus, a possible consequence is that students with negative attitudes towards mathematics are not good problem solvers. However, this reality is not final and can be modified. The appreciation of affective aspects in the teaching of mathematics and the use of problem solving as a teaching methodology can be a way to change the scenario presented.