Estratégias de cálculo em materiais curriculares de Matemática dos Anos Iniciais: análise de sua abordagem e do papel perspectivado às professoras

Abstract

Based on the understanding that curriculum materials constitute important support for teaching work, both in lesson planning and implementation, this research aimed to analyze the approach given to calculation strategies in a collection of Mathematics curriculum materials, specifically for monitoring learning practices, for Elementary School. Therefore, the research employs a qualitative approach, conducting a document analysis of five volumes of Teacher's Manuals from a collection of curriculum materials. Assuming a multipaper format, the dissertation comprises two chapters: an introduction and a concluding section, in addition to two articles reporting studies that were each guided by the specific objectives of (i) examine the calculation strategies incorporated in a collection of Mathematics curriculum materials for Elementary School; and (ii) problematize the role of teachers as seen in the indication of calculation strategies in a collection of Mathematics curriculum materials for Elementary School. For the theoretical framework, we refer to theories on the teaching of numbers and operations, focusing on the types and strategies of calculation, as well as the roles envisioned for teachers in curriculum materials, highlighting how approaches to calculation and curriculum enactment are articulated with the proposed teaching guidelines. The research results show that the analyzed Teacher's Manuals incorporate guidelines and tasks that mobilize different calculation strategies, anchored in properties and concepts of the decimal number system, especially in the context of additive and multiplicative operations. However, these strategies are not presented homogeneously, with approaches that favor conceptual understanding and the valuing of diverse procedures coexisting with others that tend towards the stabilization of more procedural practices. The analysis reveals that the Teacher's Manual is configured as a central curriculum device, by envisioning specific roles for teachers, situating them on a continuum that oscillates between the reproduction of prescribed procedures and the reflective mediation of student learning. In this sense, curriculum materials do not act in a neutral way, as they produce invitations to teaching action that can expand or restrict opportunities for exploring calculation strategies in the classroom. By problematizing these guidelines, the research shows that the implementation of calculation strategies depends on the teachers' interpretative and decision making processes, influenced by their professional knowledge, teaching conceptions, and formative experiences. Thus, the findings reinforce the understanding that curriculum materials and teachers constitute a dialogical relationship in the enactment of the curriculum, indicating the relevance of studies that articulate materials, pedagogical practices, and teacher training