Processo de design para um objeto de aprendizagem tangível

Abstract

Manipulating physical objects is a practice used to supplement Mathematics learning for children and adolescents in the school context. Concrete materials, or manipulatives, are resources often teachers use from early grades of elementary school until basic education the last grades as an aid to improve learning of more abstract mathematical concepts. However, when mentioning not only use of these manipulatives but also their creation for learning purpose, there is a variety of content (specificities) or a hidden process to assist in the addition of a manipulative and the technology itself. In the specific case of geometry (a branch of Mathematics), as the manipulatives are already part of most schools’ materials, we propose a design process that enables the integration of computational techniques and current manipulatives creating a new type of teaching resource, called tangible learning objects, further enriching student’s’ learning experience. Thus, the student creates an interest in the tangible learning object through the various possibilities of interaction with it and goes on to become builder of his own knowledge. In this thesis, therefore, we present a design process for tangible learning objects for mathematics (geometry). We also present specifications to create these objects to support the teaching of mathematics, exemplified by a multi-layer design for the learning object “Tangible Tangram”.