Aprendizagem dos fatos aritméticos: implicações teóricas e práticas

• Ano de defesa: 2016
• Autor(a) principal: Mariuche Rodrigues de Almeida Gomides
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; UFMG
• Palavras-chave em Português: Interferência; Dificuldades de aprendizagem da matemática; Memória; Intervenção; Fatos aritméticos; Neurociências
• Link de acesso: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/BUOS-AJ5MGW

Arithmetic facts correspond to simple and overpracticed calculations stored in long-term memory. They are a complex and multidetermined domain considered the basis of more complex mathematical abilities. Children with math learning difficulties (MLD) show impairments in the consolidation of arithmetic facts in memory. The acquisition process leads to an interconnected memory network in which problems and responses are associated. However, as these combinations result from associations between digits 0 to 9, arithmetic facts learning is prone to false associations due to interference. Children with MLD present impairments in this process, showing difficulties to create reliable associations between problems and answers. In order to investigate the arithmetic facts learning process, two studies were proposed. The first study investigated the effects of interference manipulation during the learning of a new times table. Participants practiced complex multiplications extensively by repetition in order to store new arithmetic facts. The interference was manipulated through the items repetition in differents combinations. The interference negatively affected the storage of items that share similar features. This study gives support to the proposal that interference is an inevitable consequence of the arithmetic facts organization in memory. The second study investigated the efficiency of an arithmetic facts intervention program in two children with mathematical difficulties, but different cognitive profile. The program used practice and conceptual knowledge instructions to improve fluency multiplication capacity. Participants took part in individual sessions. A pre and posttest design was adopted to evaluate the intervention efficiency. Patients showed different patterns of improvement according to their particular neuropsychological profile. The results are in line with MLD heterogeneity, and highlight the importance of this aspect in the elaboration of intervention programs. Both studies presented theoretical and practical implication to the arithmetic facts learning and intervention comprehension.