Percepção da matemática por alunos do ensino fundamental em atividades de modelagem matemática

Abstract

For this present research, we centered our focus on Mathematical Modeling as a pedagogical alternative that allows the incorporation of mathematical knowledge through problem-solving situations that, in general, are found in the context of reality and in Peircean Semiotics as the theoretical framework of mathematics didactics for understanding knowledge. The research aimed to investigate 'What Mathematics is perceived by elementary school students when they engage in mathematical modeling activities?' We consider perception, in a semiotic sense, as how a person interprets what they experience, and the process of perception transforms experiences into understandable and manageable information. In order to provide reflections for the research question, we delved into the description and analysis of four mathematical modeling activities developed with two classes: one class from the 5th grade and one from the 9th grade of elementary school, at a private school located in Cambé-PR. The activities were selected considering greater student participation to support our qualitative interpretative analysis. The 5th-grade activities - TV and social networks – were developed collectively with the whole class, with active student participation. The 9th-grade activities - Pizza and High Heels - were developed with students organized into groups. The collected data included written records, photos, video recordings, and audio. Analyzing two activities from each of the elementary school classes – 5th and 9th grade – we were able to highlight the mathematical perception of students in the initial and final years of elementary school through the signs they used/produced in the development of mathematical modeling activities, considering data collection, problem-solving, and peer communication of results. In general, the signs produced by the 5th-grade students were largely supported by gestures and speech, unlike the 9th-grade students who sought to organize the mathematical approach formally through writing, in addition to speech and gesture. More specifically, the Mathematics perceived by each of the classes was related to the mathematical content that had been studied in previous classes before the development of each activity or based on a suggestion from the teacher-researcher. The mathematical modeling activities developed during the 2021 school year with 5th and 9th-grade students allowed us to create an educational product aimed at guiding teachers who wish to implement them in elementary school classroom practices.