Numerical Cognition: understanding of teachers working in Basic Education

Abstract

Numerical Cognition is an area of Neuroscience that investigates how Mathematics learning occurs, an essential knowledge for teachers working in Basic Education, contributing, in a peculiar way, to the understanding of the most complex mathematical concepts. Thus, the objective of this work is to investigate the understanding of teachers who work in Basic Education regarding Numerical Cognition. In this study, continuing education was approached as a fundamental element in the teacher's career, since these courses enable professionals to reflect their pedagogical practices and modify them, if necessary. For the methodological path, data collection was carried out by means of a questionnaire, audio recordings, as well as practical activities. The research subjects are teachers who work both in public and private schools, in a municipality in the north of the state of Paraná. As an analysis methodology, the assumptions of Textual Discursive Analysis were used. As results, it was found that although the participants presented a certain understanding about Numerical Cognition, none of them presented a coherent conception with the authors that support the study, as well as do not understand about its structure. In addition, all participants stated that this topic was not addressed in their initial training and that they had not participated in any continuing training on this subject.