Matemática financeira no 9° ano: dificuldades e alternativas para a aprendizagem

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the process of teaching Financial Mathematics and propose learning alternatives for 9th-grade elementary school students at José Caetano dos Santos School, located in the São Vitor community in the municipality of São Raimundo Nonato-PI. The study discusses important factors that may influence difficulties in learning Financial Mathematics, such as the teaching methodology used in the classroom, examining whether learning can be improved through the use of additional resources beyond textbooks and traditional teaching methods. To improve students’ learning, board games were used as an educational tool, since these didactic games incorporated Financial Mathematics into their dynamics. The intention was to overcome learning difficulties and provide more interactive and contextualized classes that relate to the students’ reality. The methodological instruments used to obtain the results included classroom observation and pre- and post-questionnaires applied before and after the use of board games during lessons. Therefore, the objective was to present a qualitative analysis based on the collected data. Through this investigation, it was possible to observe that after the introduction of board games, there was an improvement in students’ understanding of Financial Mathematics, especially in logical reasoning, critical thinking, and social interaction. Finally, it was concluded that every methodology has its positive and negative aspects, and that board games do not replace the teacher’s role in the classroom, but rather serve as another alternative in the teaching-learning process.