O jogo do NIM e o desempenho escolar em matemática

Abstract

This research work was elaborated from the study on the use of games in the teaching of Mathematics, since this is a methodology whose efficiency is constantly demonstrated and reaffirmed in several academic publications. The use of games in mathematics teaching is defended because, besides having a playful dimension, it also has an educational dimension. One such game is NIM, first published by Charles Bouton in 1901. This game encourages mental calculations and early counting to predict the opponent's future moves. The objective 1Acadêmica do Curso de Ciências Exatas – Licenciatura, da Universidade Federal do Pampa, campus Caçapava do Sul, RS. 2 Professora da Universidade Federal do Pampa, campus Caçapava do Sul, RS 3 of this research was to analyze if the student's logical reasoning, which stands out during the NIM game matches, is reflected in their mathematical performance at school. Initially, a research was conducted regarding the use of games in teaching and learning mathematics and the care to be taken by educators when making use of this practice. Using the NIM game followed three stages: game presentation, exploration, and question formulation; conjecture formulation, hypothesis testing and reformulation; and justification for conjecture and work evaluation. The game was applied to six students of the Final Years of Basic Education, from a public school. The matches were played in pairs and recorded on video and audio. An interview was also conducted with the student who stood out during the matches, as well as with his math teacher. The statements gathered during the interviews and matches were analyzed according to analysis categories based on concepts of Gérard Vergnaud's Conceptual Field Theory: ready-made schemes, constructed schemes, operative invariants, anticipations, rules of action, inferences, affiliations and ruptures. From this analysis it is possible to confirm that there is parity between the student's performance during the game matches and their performance in mathematics classes.