Knowledge and activities to enhance mental calculation
Abstract
Mental calculus is essential in the development of strategies for the solution of the four operations, fundamental to Mathematics. Several authors stand out for presenting mental calculation strategies, such as Backheuser (1933), Albuquerque (1951), Beishuizen (1993), Parra (1996), Thompson (1999a), Threlfall (2002), Boaler (2020). Through bibliographical research, we analyzed the strategies suggested by these authors and we noticed that some name them, while others stop at examples, both with the intention of leading the reader to understand them. However, presenting a strategy and naming it is not enough for the individual to be able to understand and use it to be able to teach later. It is essential to recognize what knowledge is needed to trigger a strategy. In this article, we propose to analyze the mental calculation strategies described by these authors and list the knowledge needed for each of them, to understand what it is necessary to know to formulate a strategy. From the analysis, we list four groups of essential knowledge for the development of mental calculation: Basic facts, Decomposition, Doubles and Network of Numerical relations of 10. In addition, we present suggestions for activities that can be expanded and applied in the classroom, in order to help teachers to build knowledge and strategies with their students, enabling the development of mental calculus. Our research indicates that, before presenting a strategy, it is necessary to work on the knowledge that underlies it, otherwise it becomes difficult to perform mental calculations.
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References
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