Obstáculos e dificuldades de aprendizagem sobre função quadrática: uma investigação ao longo de uma sequência didática

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the experience of a didactic sequence to investigate the reasons that lead high school students to present obstacles and difficulties in learning quadratic function. Throughout the didactic sequence, students were given the opportunity to use metacognitive strategies in order to help overcome the obstacles and difficulties they may face in the construction of knowledge about quadratic function. It was assumed that understanding metacognitive strategies allows students to develop their own cognition and reflect on their knowledge. Throughout the research, the students' comprehension in solving problems involving quadratic function was analyzed, as well as the contribution of the students' previous knowledge in each class in the teaching and learning process was evaluated. This research was based on texts by the main theorists that support the object of study: Brousseau, Flavell and Zabala, among others. Some students from a public high school in Ribeira do Amparo, BA, participated in the research. They were given the opportunity, through the didactic sequence, to reflect about their role in the school context, their learning obstacles and difficulties, and to identify, through metacognition, the instruments that will lead them to want to study in a pleasurable and meaningful way. The research contributed to ratify the importance of promoting inquiry and metacognition in a didactic sequence process, by valuing the students' experience and the dialogue among them in the classroom. The study also helped to understand their difficulties and obstacles in learning about the quadratic function. For this learning, it is necessary to bring to the classroom a welcoming and innovative environment that promotes in students the ability to solve problems and deal with numerical information.