Child labor and learning

This paper investigates the impact of working while in school on learning outcomes through the use of a unique micro panel dataset of Brazilian students. The potential endogeneity is addressed through the use of di erence-in-di erence and instrumental variable estimators. A negative e ect of working on learning outcomes in both math and Portuguese is found. The e ects of child work range from 3% to 8% of a standard deviation decline in test score which represents a loss of about a quarter to a half of a year of learning on average. We also explore the minimum legal age to entry in the labor market to induce an exogenous variation in child labor status. The results reinforce the detrimental e ects of child labor on learning. Additionally, it is found that this e ect is likely due to the interference of work with the time kids can devote to school and school work.

Drug battles and school achievement: evidence from Rio de Janeiro's favelas

This paper examines the effects of armed conflicts between drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro's favelas on student achievement. We explore variation in violence that occurs across time and space when gangs battle over territories. Within-school estimates indicate that students from schools exposed to violence score less in math exams. The effect of violence increases with conflict intensity, duration, and proximity to exam dates; and decreases with the distance between the school and the conflict location. Finally, we find that school supply is an important mechanism driving the achievement results; armed conflicts are significantly associated with higher teacher absenteeism, principal turnover, and temporary school closings.

Visualização de informação em sistemas científicos

Este trabalho é um estudo sobre a aplicação de técnicas de visualização de informação em sistemas de software científico, i.e., sistemas de software voltados para matemática, ciências e engenharias. Enquanto sistemas dessa natureza normalmente fazem uso da visualização científica e figuram como caso de sucesso nessa área, nem sempre são projetados considerando os princípios de visualização de informação. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar a aplicação desse conceitos em alguns sistemas reais, desenvolvidos com diferentes níveis de entendimento nessa área de conhecimento e com base nessas experiências propor o desenvolvimento de componentes de software capazes de facilitar a criação de sistemas semelhantes e ao mesmo tempo promover a aplicação destes conceitos.

Business Plan, financial and risk analysis from the start-up mathrix

Mathrix is an e-learning math website that will be launched in March 2016. This master thesis offered a unique chance to interact with experienced supervisors in venture capitalism and project investment. It could serve as guidelines for entrepreneurs who intend to raise funds. Starting with the company’s business plan, the thesis focuses on estimating the company’s value with its return on investment using three scenarios and taking into consideration the risks evolved.

Uma visita ao universo matemático de Lewis Carrol e o (re)encontro com sua lógica do nonsense

Notable mathematics teacher, Lewis Carroll, pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), made the mixture of mathematics with literature a ludic environment for learning that discipline. Author of Alice s Adventures In Wonderland and its sequel Alice Through The Looking Glass, he eventually created a real and complex universe which uses what we call the logic of the nonsense as an element to motivate the development of mathematical thinking of the reader, taking it as well, learn by establishing a link between the concrete (mathematics) and the imaginary (their universe). In order to investigate and discuss the educational potential of their works and state some elements that can contribute to a decentralized math education from the traditional method of following the models and decorate formulas, we visited his works based on the studies of archeology of knowledge (FOUCAULT, 2007), the rational thought and symbolic thinking (VERGANI, 2003) and about the importance of stories and narratives to the development of human cognition (FARIAS, 2006). Through a descriptive, analytical study, we used the literary construction and presented part of our study in form of a mathematical novel, to give the mathematical school a particular charm, without depriving it of its basics properties as discipline and content. Our study showed how the works of Carroll have a strong didactic element that can deploy in various activities of study and teaching for mathematics classes

Possibilidades de exploração da história da ciência na formação do professor de matemática: mobilizando saberes a partir da obra de Nicolau Copérnico de revolutionibus orbium coelestium

This study aims to analyze the implications that the knowledge of an important work for the History of Science, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium , by Nicholas Copernicus, can bring for the formation of Mathematics professors. The study focuses on Book I of Copernicus s work, where, in the final part, is found the Table of the Subtense Straight Lines in a Circle, a true sine table constructed by the author. The study considers two theoretical references, the History of Science and of Mathematics, in the professor s formation searched amongst others in Miguel and Miorm, Brito, Neves and Martins, and Radford, and the necessary teaching knowledge professors mst have, on the basis of Gauthier, Schulman and Imbernón amongst others, through which it is established a net of knowledge grouped in dimensions such as mathematical, psycho pedagogical, cultural and practical diversity, that guide the study analysis. In the search for more necessary elements to enrich the analysis, beyond the theoretical research in Book I, it is carried through, with under graduation pupils, future Math professors, the construction of a sine table following the project used in De revolutionibus . The study still makes a description of the life and work of Nicholas Copernicus, detaching the historical context where the author lived and the conceptions about the Universe existing at that time. The research reveals that the studied work is an important source of culture, able to provide to the Mathematics professor in formation, beyond the conceptual and procedural mathematical knowledge, a cultural knowledge that allows him to be opened to the knowledge of other areas that not his specific area, and so to acquire knowledge about the world history, the development of sciences and of the society

Dificuldade de berço? Professores de matemática no ensino médio: práticas, formação continuada e juventude

The present paper is focused on pedagogical practices and continued lecturing formation of High School Mathematic teachers. Knowing the essential importance of the teacher at the educational process since he/she is the mediator on knowledge gathering by the scholars and continued formation meaning on that process, we hereby propose to investigate and compare what Math teachers think about their professional role, the kind of continued formation they receive and their development on teacher s knowledge and doing; to gather and compare what do Math teachers know about young people at public and private schools and their demands and as which find out if they link with the way as their students are taught. To develop our comparative research, we chose a qualitative focus and an investigation of ethnographic type. We took as the subject four Math teachers that work with high school 1st and 2nd grades in public and private schools, morning and afternoon shifts and license titles. The research results reveal differences in structural matter between the spaces, but the comparisons between teacher doings and knowledge reveal that the differences refer to the sort of formation and how often do the teachers search for it. Nevertheless, the reports pointed to continued lecturing formation offering and consistence problems and these reflect on their work and on its basis. The knowledge about youth and adolescence, such as theoric and methodological knowledge that lead their practices, are revealers of teachers difficulties in developing their activities according to the target public and nowadays educational demands

Os jogos com regras na perspectiva do desenho universal: contribuições à educação matemática inclusiva

To think about a school that is for everyone has been a challenge for many people connected to education worldwide demanding from researchers of each level of knowledge an association to such effort. The study presented on this paper unites itself to the voices, movements and researches of these scholars, seeking to contribute on building possibilities on which mathematics can be thought and worked on schools in order for every student to learn, whether they have some sort of deficiency, disorders, syndromes or not. This essay has the goal to investigate the possibilities of inclusive pedagogical practices mediated by math games with rules, developed and used throughout the Universal Design perspective; a qualitative research took place with a collaborative methodology that involved managers, teachers and students from a public school situated on the city of Natal/Brazil. On the investigation math games with rules were developed and made according to the Universal Design concept, starting from initial studies which articulated theoretical groundings to the reality of school and the teacher s conceptions. After that, classes using these tools were planned collectively which oriented inclusive pedagogical practices of classes from the 1st to the 4th year of elementary school. Throughout the process many instruments such as: tape recording, video footages, notes from the researcher; the teachers and the students were used for constant work evaluation and also to record the research data. In the end, the data indicated effective contributions of the mediated pedagogical practices by games with rules under the perspective of Universal Design for Inclusive Mathematics Education

Números complexos: uma proposta de mudança metodológica para uma aprendizagem significativa no ensino médio

This work presents a proposal of a methodological change to the teaching and learning of the complex numbers in the Secondary education. It is based on the inquiries and difficulties of students detected in the classrooms about the teaching of complex numbers and a questioning of the context of the mathematics teaching - that is the reason of the inquiry of this dissertation. In the searching for an efficient learning and placing the work as a research, it is presented a historical reflection of the evolution of the concept of complex numbers pointing out their more relevant focuses, such as: symbolic, numeric, geometrical and algebraic ones. Then, it shows the description of the ways of the research based on the methodology of the didactic engineering. This one is developed from the utilization of its four stages, where in the preliminary analysis stage, two data surveys are presented: the first one is concerning with the way of presenting the contents of the complex numbers in math textbooks, and the second one is concerning to the interview carried out with High school teachers who work with complex numbers in the practice of their professions. At first, in the analysis stage, it is presented the prepared and organized material to be used in the following stage. In the experimentation one, it is presented the carrying out process that was made with the second year High school students in the Centro Federal de Educação tecnológica do Rio Grande do Norte CEFET-RN. At the end, it presents, in the subsequent and validation stages, the revelation of the obtained results from the observations made in classrooms in the carrying out of the didactic sequence, the students talking and the data collection

Um estudo sobre o ensino-aprendizagem das demonstrações matemáticas

Demonstrations are fundamental instruments for Mathematics and, as such, are frequently used by mathematicians, math teachers and students. In fact, demonstrations are part of every Mathematics teaching environment, because Mathematics considers something true when it can be demonstrated. This is in contrast to other fields of knowledge that employ observation and experimentation to validate truth. This dissertation presents a study of the teaching and learning of demonstrations in Mathematics, describing a Teaching Module applied in a course on the Theory of Numbers offered by the Mathematics Department of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte for mathematics majors. The objective of the dissertation was to propose and test a Teaching Module that can serve as a model for teaching demonstrations. The Teaching Module consisted of the following five steps: the application of a survey to determine the students‟ profiles and their previous knowledge of mathematical language and techniques of demonstration; the analysis of a series of dialogues containing arguments in everyday language; the investigation and analysis of the structure of some important techniques of demonstration; a written assessment; and, finally, an interview to further verify the principal results of the Teaching Module. The analysis of the data obtained though the classroom activities, written assessments and interviews led to the conclusion that there was a significant amount of assimilation of the issue at the level of relational understanding, (SKEMP, 1980). These instruments verified that the students attained considerable improvement in their use of mathematical language and of the techniques of demonstration presented. Thus, the evidence supports the conclusion that the proposed Teaching Module is an effective means for the teaching/learning of mathematical demonstration and, as such, provides a methodological guide which may lay the foundations for a new approach to this important subject

Uma investigação histórica sobre os logaritmos com sugestões didáticas para a sala de aula

This study was conducted from a preliminary research to identify the conceptual and didactic approach to the logarithms given in the main textbooks adopted by the Mathematics teachers in state schools in the School of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte. I carried out an historical investigation of the logarithms in order to reorient the math teacher to improve its educational approach this subject in the classroom. Based on the research approach I adopted a model of the log based on three concepts: the arithmetic, the geometric and algebraic-functional. The main objective of this work is to redirect the teacher for a broad and significant understanding of the content in order to overcome their difficulties in the classroom and thus realize an education that can reach the students learning. The investigative study indicated the possibility of addressing the logarithms in the classroom so transversalizante and interdisciplinary. In this regard, I point to some practical applications of this matter are fundamental in the study of natural phenomena as earthquakes, population growth, among others. These practical applications are connected, approximately, Basic Problematization Units (BPUs) to be used in the classroom. In closing, I offer some activities that helped teachers to understand and clarify the meaningful study of this topic in their teaching practice

Vídeo-aula de história da matemática: uma possibilidade didática para o ensino de matemática

In this work we are disagreeing with the possibility of production and of the use of video-class for the disciplines of history of mathematics by the teachers of elementary e middle school as a way to contribute to the development of their classes. Our goal is to provide to the mathematics teachers the option of connecting social, scientific, cognitive, and didactic aspects of topics in math thoughts to their students. That shall be based in the presence of mathematics in the history of humanity. Thus, we consider possible that teachers and their students can link and relate mathematics to other sciences, education culture, and reflect about the many ways of represent them, as well as the patters of organization of nature and of culture. In this way, they shall be able to observe and interpret situations that involve mathematical questions associated to the various means of historic-epistemological studies already done by other researchers and scholars in the field of history of mathematics who works in creating video-classes. In addition to that, we can use all the available media in order to give edifying dynamics to the mathematical formulations established throughout history. In this sense, we are based and focused on the objectives, which are sustained by educational computer technology, techniques for video making, as well as mathematical teaching proposals and the historical inquiring made by Mendes (2001, 2009a, 2009b). The validating experimentation allowed us to conclude that the techniques we used in the production of the history of mathematics video-classes proved they to be valid ones. They are able to be executed with the minimum of technological resources. In addition, they have the same efficacy as far as classroom use

Elaboração e aplicação de uma sequência de atividades para o ensino da trigonometria numa abordagem histórica

The present work aims to report the construction of a workbook for teaching trigonometry focusing the possible mix between the historical approach to the teaching of mathematics and the professional master´s degree. For this, considerations about the history of mathematics as a teaching methodology, the education of the math teacher who will teach trigonometry and also about the course of elaboration and experimentation of the activities in the workbook were made (using the methodological strategy of action research). Finally, the workbook for the teaching of trigonometry in a historical approach is presented as an example of the above mentioned mix between the history of mathematics, mathematical school content and the professional master´s degree

A leitura como instrumento facilitador da compreensão matemática

This research builds on a qualitative approach and proposes action research to develop, implement and evaluate a strategy grounded in the teaching of geometry reading from different text types, in order to enhance the understanding of mathematical concepts by students in the 6th grade of elementary school. The teaching of mathematics, strengthened by a reading practice that fosters a greater understanding of science, because it would contribute to the expansion of vocabulary, acquire a higher level of reasoning, interpretation and understanding, providing opportunities thus a greater contextualization of the student, making out the role of mere spectator to the builder of mathematical knowledge. As a methodological course comply with the following steps: selecting a field of intervention school, the class-subject (6 years of elementary school) and teacher-collaborator. Then there was a diagnostic activity involving the content of geometry - geometric solids, flat regions and contours - with the class chosen, and it was found, in addition to the unknown geometry, a great difficulty to contextualize it. From the analysis of the answers given by students, was drawn up and applied three interventional activities developed from various text (legends, poems, articles, artwork) for the purpose of leading the student to realize, through reading these texts, the discussions generated from these questions and activities proposed by the present mathematics in context, thus getting a better understanding and interaction with this discipline as hostility by most students. It was found from the intervention, the student had a greater ability to understand concepts, internalize information and use of geometry is more consistent and conscientious, and above all, learning math more enjoyable