Motivando a aprendizagem de números inteiros por meio de materiais manipuláveis: uma experiência no sétimo ano do ensino fundamental

Abstract

The present study’s main focus is to analyze if the use of manipulable materials motivates and helps the learning of Whole Numbers in a 7th grade Elementary School class. This approach is justified because students tend to have difficulties when starting to make calculations involving whole numbers. Consequently, the succession of errors lead students to become unmotivated. To better understand the concepts that will be addressed in this research, and the difficulties encountered by teachers and students with regard to Whole Numbers, the reader will be introduced to a chapter on motivation, a chapter on Whole Numbers, and a chapter on manipulable materials, in addition to the methodology used, and the analysis of the data acquired. The present study consists of a quantitative and qualitative approach based on data collection through an experiment with 60 students from a Municipal School in Rio de Janeiro. To understand whether there was any impact on the students' motivation, a motivational questionnaire was applied before and after the activities using manipulable materials. To analyze whether there was an improvement in the student’s learning in relation to Whole Numbers, a pre-test and a post-test were also applied. For this research students participated in activities using four different options of manipulable materials. With the survey of data throughout the research and the analysis of the information gathered, it is possible to conclude that the teaching techniques using manipulable materials, developed by the researcher, indeed motivated and helped students in the learning of Whole Numbers