Alunos do ensino fundamental e problemas escolares : leitura e interpretação de enunciados e procedimentos de resolução

Abstract

The factors that he1p or impair the interpretation and the solution of Math problems by 5th and 8th grade primary school students are analyzed. Ten 5th grade students (Group I) and 10 8th grade students (Group II) underwent, at individual leve1, a clinical interview in which they had to solve four Math problems that involved e1ementary mathematical concepts and knowledge. Results indicate that complexity in the problems' solution goes beyond the issue of fluency in reading or also the use or non use of strategies or isolated conceptual knowledge. The comprehension of the problems' enunciation and the use of adequate strategies or procedures actually depend on several factors which include the understanding of the discursive genre "enunciation of school Math problems" and of the terms or expressions that are comprised within them, the mobilization of previous knowledge and the retention or control of the information in the enunciations. From the mathematical point of view, more school duration of the Group II students failed to provide them with more e1aborated strategies for their solutions than those used by Group I. Only the use of arithmetical procedures used by the latter proved of any use.