Recursos para o desenvolvimento do conhecimento matemático na educação infantil: um foco nas Big Ideas em matemática

Abstract

Considering that Mathematics is a field of knowledge structured by a set of connected ideas, and not only related to single topics, this work focuses on the Kindergarten teaching and learning essential mathematical concepts that could (and should) be presented and explored at this level. The “Big Ideas in Mathematics” are very important for the development of children's mathematical skills, and, considering the teacher’s role in the process of organizing and providing adequate opportunities for children, it is essential to focus on the teacher's practice on teaching (with and for) “Big Ideas”. This leads to the explicitation of how children build their knowledge and develop their mathematical skills. In this sense, reflections on teaching and learning Mathematics should be considered one of the main foci at Kindergarten, since in this stage crucial elements for a full development of children's logical-mathematical reasoning are established and grounded. Considering that the teacher's mathematical and pedagogical knowledge directly impacts on the students' learning, in this work the teacher's knowledge related to Big Ideas in Mathematics plays a central role in the context of designing tasks for developing children’s Big Ideas on Mathematics. In this sense, as a way of contributing to teacher’s professional development, this work presents a set of tasks focusing on the Big Ideas on Mathematics on “number sense”, “quantification”, “comparison” and “measurement”.