Minecraft: um aliado no processo de ensino aprendizagem da geometria espacial

Abstract

Education in Mathematics has been seeking, since its first interventions, to promote discussions on how to overcome learning difficulties. In that fashion, this dissertation, included in the Information Technology, Communication and Interaction Applied to Mathematics Teaching Research Branch takes as theoretical bases the precepts of Constructionism proposed by Seymour Papert and the principles of education advocated by Paulo Freire as it regards the problematizing dialogue and the contextualization of knowledge. Thus, a sequence of activities has been developed, involving not only the elements traditionally used, such as pencil, paper and geometrical solids origami, but aggregating the technology of the computer game Minecraft, along with other media such as smartphones, image projector, video-tutorials and computers. The guiding question of the study is as follows: to what extent can the use of the computer game Minecraft potentialize the teaching and learning of geometrical concepts process in the sixth year of elementary school? The sequence of activities proposed by this paper was structured in twelve meetings in which introductory elements of spatial geometry were approached. The application of the proposal occurred in a class of nine students of the sixth year of a private elementary school in Tapejara, RS – Brazil. The research-action followed the data collected through the instruments: the researcher’s observations, journals, transcription of dialogues, photos, videos and reports made of semi-structured questionnaires answered at the end of each of the twelve meetings. The evaluation of the pertinence of such pedagogical approach was made based on that analysis. As a result, the research has stressed the relevance of the activities proposal involving the computer game Minecraft allied to diverse tools as relevant to the learning of introductory elements of special geometry. Intending to contribute to the works of other teachers, the different tools used on this project are gathered in a material called Educational Product, freely made available at the University of Passo Fundo PostGraduate program on Mathematics and Science’s website http//www.upf.br/ppgecm and EduCapes’ website http://educapes.capes.gov.br/handle/capes/206568.