Aprendizagem de frações e suas operações por meio da resolução de problemas: uma experiência com estudantes do sexto ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública federal do Maranhão

Abstract

Among the contents (objects of knowledge) of Mathematics developed in Basic Education, specifically in Primary Education, fractions are one of those that generate some difficulty for students, especially when they reach the final years of Primary Education, because until then they had been used to dealing with natural numbers. Thus, the aim of this research is to build learning about the concepts of fractions and their operations with students in the sixth year of elementary school through Problem Solving, in accordance with the Common National Curriculum Base (BNCC) guidelines. A qualitative research methodology was used and the data was gathered through participant observation, field diary entries and document analysis. The documents investigated were the manuscripts (the solutions) made by the students to the proposed problems, which were given to the researcher for analysis. A didactic sequence was developed with 8 (eight) problems, worked on in a 6th grade class at a federal school in the state of Maranhão. The data collected and analyzed showed that the work carried out using Problem Solving enabled the students to learn concepts related to fractions and their operations. Although most of the students had already studied this subject in 5th grade, they initially had doubts about the problems presented, especially when they were solved individually. However, when they got together in small groups to solvethe problems, they felt more stimulated, so it was possible to see that they made significant progress in learning this content, which shows that when the work is done by solving problems in small groups, the students feel like learning math. In addition, the research showed the development of skills linked to solving problems, such as experimentation, making conjectures and formalizing mathematical concepts andprocedures.