Teaching Interventions and Mathematical Learning in a modelling activity in the 6th year of elementary school

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to investigate in which phases of the development of a mathematical modelling activity each subdivision of the mathematical learning of 6th grade elementary school students can be evidenced. To this end, we rely on the theoretical framework of mathematical modelling understood as a pedagogical alternative that makes it possible to support students' learning through a real-life problem situation, through actions organized into phases: integration, mathematization, resolution, interpretation of results and validation. Mathematical learning is supported by actions subdivided into components, such as conceptual, algorithmic, strategic, communicative and semiotic. Assuming that mathematical objects are accessible through their representations, as well as the fact that a written record can express evidence of mathematical learning, we developed a modelling activity on the topic of Water, with 6th grade elementary school students from a full-time school in Paraná, in 2023. The data that supported our qualitative, interpretative and descriptive analysis are written records of one of the groups of students in the development of the modeling activity under the guidance of the teacher who printed written interventions with the aim of requiring a different representation from that presented by the group and correcting mistakes that were present in routine tasks. With these interventions and considering the phases of mathematical modelling, the results indicated that the students revealed evidence of the learning components throughout the activity, revealing specificities of the investigated theme.