Conexões entre o pensamento computacional e o pensamento algébrico por meio da computação desplugada no ensino da matemática nos anos finais do ensino fundamental

Abstract

The constant transformations in society brought with them great technological advances. These advances embrace several sectors, such as entertainment, health and safety, exposing the need to introduce computational concepts even in the initial school phase to prepare all students for the professional future. One of the aspects in the school context is the lack of interest on the part of students in relation to Mathematics, some because they do not understand its language in the classroom, others because they do not understand it in the social context, that is, outside of school. The lack of understanding increases when the content is about algebraic language, specifically algebra, as this branch of mathematics is very focused on studying numbers and letters. In recent years, much research has been carried out in relation to mathematical reasoning, also called Algebraic Thinking (AT) by many researchers, in Basic Education. There is also a lot of research in recent years that addresses Computational Thinking (CT), which refers to a form of reasoning aimed at problem solving, as well as AT, but based on the foundations of Computer Science. However, few investigations address the relationship between CT and AT. When integrating CT in education, an interesting question is to investigate whether its development also contributes to the learning of mathematics. The main objective of the present investigation is to implement a didactic-pedagogical strategy in the process of developing CT in relation to algebra and AT in solving problems in mathematical contexts in the final years of elementary school. Didactic interventions were carried out with elementary school students in their final years, using Unplugged Computing to develop CT activities associated with mathematical contexts, without the need for a computer. The comparison between pre and post test results demonstrates that the approach was successful for the development of AT through CT activities, pointing to ways of introducing CT in basic education.