O ensino de cálculo diferencial e integral adaptado para discente com transtorno do espectro autista e discalculia: um estudo de caso com base em Vigotski

Abstract

It is noticeable, in contemporary society, the insertion of people with special or specific needs in daily activities and the job market. Thus, the professional training of these people, at a higher level, is undoubtedly a major social advance. However, for this training to take place comprehensively, and not just include it by law, the student must obtain an apprenticeship that favors their academic performance and contemplates their professional desires. In this context, the problem defined for this study was the difficulty in teaching Differential and Integral Calculus (DIC), limited to derivatives, for students diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Dyscalculia. The problem with this investigation, therefore, arose through the question: Do the teaching strategies of Differential and Integral Calculus contemplate the specificities of students with disabilities, taking into account their previous knowledge of mathematics to facilitate the assimilation of the contents of Calculus? To find answers to this question, the general objective was defined: To analyze the teaching strategies used in the discipline of Differential and Integral Calculus, with one variable, adapted for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Dyscalculia, based on their previous knowledge in basic mathematics. The specific objectives are: to identify knowledge of basic mathematics (PreCalculus), dominated by the student, indicating their difficulties and potential, to present the teaching strategies used in the subject of Differential and Integral Calculus (DIC), adapted to the subject of the study and indicate the positive points observed in the teaching strategies used in the discipline of Differential and Integral Calculus (DIC), adapted for the researched student. The data analysis was based on Vygotsky's socio-interactionist theory, and on his conceptions about the Zone of Proximal Development, cognitive mediation, and the internalization process. Through the concept of the Proximal Development Zone, it was possible to identify the potential of the subject of this research. Cognitive mediation contributed to the analysis of mediations performed using signs and instruments along with the internalization process enabled the perception of the results obtained. In short, the Vygotskian approach offered theoretical subsidies related to conceptualizations of development and learning based on social interaction, which contributed to the realization of consistent analysis of the learning process through cognitive mediation. The subject of the study is an undergraduate student in Oceanography at the Instituto de Ciências do Mar (Labomar), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Dyscalculia. For data collection, we used the following instruments: audio recording on the cell phone; unstructured interviews; field diary (notebook for notes); printed tests for diagnostics of basic mathematical knowledge; and, proposed, printed activities, in addition to field observation and individual accompaniment to the student. The information collected was divided and analyzed through two categories: one category related to basic mathematics knowledge and another related to the teaching strategies used during the DIC discipline. The analysis of the data collected during the field research showed that the student had gaps in the domain of knowledge of basic mathematics, a situation that may have been caused by the fact that he was released from these classes in the final years of elementary school and high school. However, it is worth highlighting the battles that he, despite his cognitive limitations, faced and won until he entered the highly desired undergraduate course, in this case, Oceanography. He had to overcome prejudice, the fear of failure, to move on. It is considered that the objectives proposed by this research were achieved because through the diagnostic tests and the unstructured interview it was possible to identify the basic mathematical knowledge (Pre-Calculation) of the student under study. With the results of the diagnoses, it was possible to direct the observations in the field and analyze the teaching strategies used in the DIC subject, as the subject's weaknesses and potentialities were known. Among the strategies used, it is worth mentioning, as the most profitable, the use of the technological resource of computational intelligence site WolframAlpha.com. This resource was well accepted by the student and favored, especially, the study of graph analysis that expressed the functions indicated in the activities proposed during classes. Also, the other teaching strategies used collaborated to involve the student in classes. He showed interest, effort, participated actively, and through the performance presented in the evaluation activities it was possible to notice that there was an evolution in his cognitive development.