ORAL COMMUNICATION IN MATHEMATICS LESSONS FOR THE INITIAL YEARS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Abstract

Since the curricular reforms in the 80’s, the need for a new classroom culture which allows mathematical meaning processes to take place has been discussed, breaking with the practices centered only in algorithmic and mechanized procedures. The communication processes have been imposing themselves as a necessary condition for the mathematical learning. During the last years, several studies in which the writing processes are taken as a communication tool among students and between students and teachers have been carried out. However, little has been discussed about the importance of the oral communication in maths lessons. The present article aims to discuss the constitution of a learning environment which allows oral communication in maths lessons as a way to develop students’ argumentation skills and help the conceptual construction movement. Vygotsky’s and Bakhtin’s premises are the starting point for the construction of a theoretical framework which supports the communication and meaning processes in the classroom. Such premises guide the analysis of two classroom episodes with students from the initial years of public elementary school in the state of São Paulo. These episodes made it possible to clearly observe how verbal interactions and the pedagogical mediation allow argumentation modes and the circulation of mathematical meanings.

Key words: Communication; Verbal interaction; Pedagogical mediation; Mathematics in the initial years.