A metacognição na abordagem algébrica do material didático do Gestar II

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate, through documentary analysis, which metacognitive strategies can be developed in the resolution of algebra proposed activities in didactic material of Mathematics from the Management Programme of School Learning (Gestar II). This program claims to be based on social constructivist conception of teaching and learning, which, according to Vigotsky (2007), must take the student to overcome problems, enabling the reflective construction of knowledge. We understand metacognition as the learners’ ability to reflect on own cognition (metacognitive dimension of knowledge) and monitor their own cognitive processes to solve problems (metacognitive dimension of self-regulation). We investigated the algebra activities, by considering a branch of Mathematics quite significant to develop the capacity for abstraction and generalization. In order to do a survey of the activities to be examined, we analysed beforehand all Learning Support Activities Books (AAA), which are the primary material of aid to the teachers participants of Gestar II in their practice in the classroom. Afterwards, we analyse 121 activities of the AAA, seeking to identify which of those could favor the use of metacognitive strategies in their resolutions. According to the results, from the 121 activities analysed, only 9 activities, i.e. 7.44%, can favour the development of metacognitive strategies. After identifying the 9 activities, we classify them into categories of analysis developed by Araújo (2009), referring to self-regulation of knowledge, and by Lucena (2013), referring to knowledge of knowledge itself. Of the 9 activities identified as promoters of metacognition, only 4 (45%) can enable the students to reflect on their own knowledge; 3 activities (33%) can favour the reflection on mathematical procedures of resolution and 2 activities (22%) can allow both the reflection on knowledge and the monitoring of own cognition to understanding of the problem. The results make us think, how can a pedagogical proposal that claims to be founded on social constructivism justify an outcome that we consider extremely low (7.44%), with regard to the promotion of metacognitive strategies?