Abstract

MONTENEGRO, PAULA; COSTA, CECÍLIA  and  LOPES, BERNARDINO. TRANSFORMATIONS OF VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF MULTIPLES AND DIVISORS OF A NUMBER. Rev. Comunic [online]. 2017, vol.24, n.1, pp.55-68. ISSN 2238-121X.  https://doi.org/10.15600/2238-121X/comunicacoes.v24n1p35-68.

Problem solving is one of the most important mathematical capacities and bases for learning of mathematical concepts, procedures and representations. However, the students show difficulties in problem solving and in a multiplicity of representations of a given mathematical concept/object. The aim of this study is to determine the relevance and the impact of using visual representations and their transformations in the teaching process of divisors and multiple of a number, and their impact in problem solving with these notions. It follows a qualitative methodology and in this paper we analyze an educational intervention in a group of 17 students (10-11 years old). The results show that (i) visual representations allowed transformations of representations (treatments and conversions) with the same characteristics of the symbolic and verbal representations (ii) these visual representations provided a learning environment with multiple representations that diversified the transformation of representations (treatments and conversions), and (iii) this effect was extended in the considered interval of time (three months). We conclude that the use of visual representations enhances the transformations of representations which contributed to the improvement of the students overall performance.

Keywords : DIVISORS; MULTIPLES; PROBLEM SOLVING; VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS.

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