O uso da história da matemática para o desenvolvimento do pensamento algébrico nos anos iniciais

Abstract

The general objective of this work is to stimulate the use of the History of Mathematics in the early years for the development of algebraic thinking. This work is characterized as bibliographic research combined with a qualitative case study. During the whole construction process, we tried to understand how mathematics is seen by society and how algebra in the early years could be better approached together with the use of the History of Mathematics. The movement known as Early Algebra is defended by renowned authors as a form of mathematical literacy, which allows students to have a basis for dealing with Algebra after Elementary School. We try to explain the role of the History of Mathematics as a methodological resource in the classroom, putting forward the positive and negative points regarding its use. We contextualize the construction of Algebra throughout time, presenting some practical examples to be used in the classroom. As an incentive to the learning of Mathematics, we approached the importance of the Mathematics Olympiad allied to the use of the History of Mathematics, having the main challenge as the lack of stimulus in schools. The research conducted among Mathematics Olympiad medalists revealed that the use of the History of Mathematics contributes positively to the performance of students in Mathematics Olympiads, helping to discover young talent and contributing to the improvement of basic education for teachers and students.