DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING MATHEMATICS IN SIXTH SCHOOL BASED ON THE TEACHING METHODS OF TEACHERS AT THE SÃO PEDRO MUNICIPAL SCHOOL, WALDOMIRO PERES LUSTOSA STATE SCHOOL AND AT THE PRIVATE SCHOOL COLÉGIO DOM BOSCO IN THE CITY OF MANAUS-AM IN 2021

Abstract

Today, there are new tools that teachers must use as yet another teaching tool to stimulate and increasingly develop cultural practices in mathematics teaching. These are new technologies, creating opportunities for students, renewing their skills, and updating their knowledge without negating existing experiences. This modernity cannot be left aside from the world of students, who are constantly seeking to acquire more knowledge.

Therefore, educators must change their attitudes by seeking updates regarding the media (new technologies) so that they themselves are not overwhelmed by these technologies and can offer their students an exchange of knowledge. Unfortunately, many educators consider educational modernity useless and difficult to use. However, this modernity is embedded in the daily lives of students, and therefore, they often possess more knowledge than teachers.

Faced with the prospect of a process of change, educators feel insecure and anxious due to their inadequate training and, mainly, because they have access only to a set of vague proposals and poorly explained theories, ungrounded in practical experience articulated with reality.

Mathematics education aims to enable students to understand and act upon their immediate and remote surroundings, developing a spirit of inquiry, invention, and initiative; logical thinking; and the notion of the universality of scientific and mathematical laws (SOARES, 2001).

Based on this concept, mathematics education in Brazil should, therefore, prepare students for a scientific world, as the explicit objectives reflect the image of students with deep mathematical knowledge in our environment.

Science education constitutes an area of ​​education that involves unique problems that distinguish it from other fields of school activity. Teaching reading and writing, for example, involves imparting knowledge about a finished object in a pre-established, publicly available writing system, as well as developing the ability to use that system effectively.

Science education, on the other hand, involves imparting knowledge in development that is often unknown to the general public. Developing the ability to use this knowledge often further develops logical reasoning, enabling the creation of new scientific knowledge.

The current model of mathematics teaching, embodied in current educational practice, seems to treat teaching primarily as a matter of transmitting information and, occasionally, using that information to solve problems already solved by others, through problem-solving routines already practiced with the teacher. These new solutions need to show other paths to follow.

So, what mathematics should we teach? Regarding the teaching and learning of mathematics, it is possible to outline an interpretative framework. In this framework, two dimensions are fundamental to the learning process.

Brazil, with Law No. 9,394/1996, adopted an educational structure based on the parameters of the best education systems in the world. The first two years, that is, when the child is between 4 and 5 years old, are spent in early childhood education. Before this age range, it is called daycare. The first nine years consist of what is called elementary education; early childhood schools generally function like the old preschools. Young children enter preschool at age 4. From the age of 6, they enter elementary school.

From the first year of elementary school, students are introduced to mathematics, the overall goal of which is to provide students with the basic knowledge of this subject to enable their integration into the society in which they live.

During this period, it seeks to develop the ability to analyze, relate, compare, abstract, and generalize all information. It also aims to stimulate students' curiosity and interest in exploring new ideas and discovering new paths to solving a given problem. It also develops specific skills in measuring and comparing quantities, calculating, constructing, and consulting tables and graphs.

Mathematics teaching in schools has been the target of questioning and criticism, as it remains a highly self-centered discipline, limited to exploring merely academic content in isolation, without any connection between its own fields or with other areas of knowledge. Teaching this curricular component has contributed little to the comprehensive development of students with a view to achieving citizenship.

Developing work projects has been an alternative used by some teachers to reverse this situation and bring mathematics teaching into a more meaningful context for students.

It is important to identify which types of projects explore topics and problems whose approach presupposes the intervention of mathematics and to what extent it offers support for understanding the topics involved. The project should lead the child to understand, give meaning to, and connect mathematics with all areas of knowledge, bringing this unsystematized knowledge into academic knowledge. That is, what the child already knows is combined with investigations to create new insights.

Mathematics is a quantitative subject that promotes the development of cognitive skills such as thinking. Reasoning skills are important for success in mathematics and other subjects studied in school. Mathematics, in particular, is a foundation for all scientific and technological studies.

Furthermore, mathematics has high relevance and practical applications for many real-life situations and problems. Therefore, it is an essential and mandatory subject in school systems. In both public and private elementary schools, mathematics is a core subject. However, as important as it is, the study of mathematics, unfortunately, is not accessible to many students. As in other parts of the world, students in public and private schools in Brazil, especially in the city of Manaus in the state of Amazonas, face a wide variety of challenges with mathematics instruction.

Mathematics is one of the school subjects in which many students often perform poorly. In elementary schools in Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, a variety of difficulties are observed in certain mathematical subjects among young students. For elementary school students, these problems are often due to a lack of adequate understanding of mathematical language and incorrect interpretation of mathematical concepts.

Students' difficulties in learning mathematics may increase with the implementation of "national education reforms," ​​with so-called inclusive education. Beginning in 1998, the Ministry of Education introduced the National Curricular Parameters (PCNs) to improve access to education for all and improve educational quality. The National Curricular Parameters addressed the problems of teaching and learning in a straightforward manner. And like the National Basic Education Assessment System, teachers' methods for teaching and assessing mathematics in public schools began to be questioned, and the need for reform was recognized.

Furthermore, teaching and assessing integrated mathematical skills for students with learning disabilities in public schools, especially with the constant changes in teaching, has become quite challenging. To be successful, these curriculum changes require everyone's participation.

School assessments (internal and external exams) are essential to force instructors to teach new content and skills. The development of mathematics screening tests for elementary school students can help identify additional challenges students face in learning mathematics.

However, simply identifying problems is not enough. An equally important objective is to find solutions to the identified problems, as not all deficiencies in mathematical content can be minimized. Studies based on this line of argument have emphasized the importance of using appropriate methods to teach mathematics to students, especially those with the most difficulties. Furthermore, it is believed that some instructional techniques can improve students' attitudes toward mathematics. Furthermore, there also appears to be a need to address the many and varied concerns of mathematics teachers. It is necessary to carry out professional development for teachers so that students' problems in learning mathematics can be resolved.