APRENDIZAGEM BASEADA NA EXPERIÊNCIA NO ENSINO DE UNIDADES DE MEDIDA E SUAS CONVERSÕES: uma sequência didática para o ensino fundamental

Abstract

Mathematics education, particularly when it addresses everyday content such as units of measurement, can contribute to students’ academic development. However, the teaching of measurement in elementary school is often limited to the use of rulers, memorized rules, and formulas, which restricts students’ broader understanding of the concepts involved. Although units of measurement are introduced in the early years of schooling, many students continue to experience doubts and difficulties, which may persist throughout later educational stages. This study aims to analyze how experiential learning can support the teaching and understanding of units of measurement and their conversions among elementary school students. Its specific objectives were to understand the foundations of Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Theory, identify students’ difficulties in understanding and using units of measurement and their conversions, and analyze the data generated by experiential teaching activities. The study adopted an action-research design with a mixed-methods approach and was conducted with a sixth-grade class at a public school in Curral Novo do Piauí. Data were collected through questionnaires, classroom observations, records of students’ written work, and photographs. The didactic sequence comprised six sessions involving the classification of objects according to the type of measurement unit, anthropometric and agrarian measurements, unit conversions, area and perimeter calculations, and capacity estimates. Data were analyzed qualitatively and statistically by cross-checking information from different sources. The study was theoretically grounded in Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and in authors who advocate practical and experimental approaches to mathematics education. The findings suggest that the proposal contributed to students’ learning of units of measurement.