Sentido de número e desempenho em matemática: identificação e acompanhamento em alunos do 1º e 2º ano de escolaridade

Abstract

This work consists of three studies sought to provide theoretical and practical contribution to the early identification of number sense as one of the precursors of the development of mathematical skills required for the initial learning of mathematics. The first study is an adaptation of a battery of number sense applied at the beginning of formal education for the Portuguese population (n = 2246) and the data were treated with descriptive statistics. The second is a correlational and inferential study (n = 222) with the purpose of examining the predictive validity of number sense in mathematics performance at the end of first grade. A longitudinal third study (n = 30) sought to identify the growth trajectories in mathematical learning and to identify the formal mathematical content associated with low, medium and high number sense. The results showed that a) the battery of number sense presents a Cronbach's alpha of .87, which translates into a good internal consistency value between items; b) the number sense have a moderate predictor effect on mathematics performance at the end of first grade; c) children with high number sense maintain a high level of mathematics performance over the first two years of schooling; d) children with low number sense present difficulties surrounding the knowledge of number and simple arithmetic operations. These findings show the importance of number sense in early ages and subsequently the importance of number sense early identification in 5 up to 8 years old children in order to prevent mathematical difficulties in elementary school.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	Portuguese
Supervisor	OSCAR CONCEIÇÃO DE SOUSA (Supervisor) & António Lopes (Supervisor)