ABS189 - Construction of knowledge in young urban populations: an Ethno-mathematical approach

This study was carried out through courses which proposal was to contribute to improving the level of the mathematical knowledge of young students entering universities with significant shortcomings, young people aged between 17 and 20 years old. The proposed work included basic algebra activities raised on the culture of students under an approach that included their ethnic origin and the mathematical knowledge of their culture. The method proposed includes elements of dialogue and exploration of the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1982). The materials were treated as cultural tools (Wersch, 1988) and it allowed to construct a particular one, logical in order to achieve the formalization of mathematical language. The interactions between students and those between the students and the teacher were the space of joint construction of mathematical knowledge. The Ethnomathematical approach allows developing the analysis on the learning achieved from the point of view of knowledge dialogue and the student’s culture. Some results show that learning basic math content was significant even when, before the activity, it was not acquired. The primary assessment instrument was the development of new problems by students considering specific situations in their community. The activity was carried out by them through cultural artifacts. This aspect introduced a new way to enable personal reasoning as the basis to achieve mastery of algebraic knowledge.