Abstract

MORO, Maria Lúcia Faria. Constructivist learning of additive and multiplicative structures in mathematics initiation. Temas psicol. [online]. 1999, vol.7, n.3, pp. 263-282. ISSN 1413-389X.

The study focus was the learning of additive structures and their relationships to multiplicative structures according to the piagetian theory and Vergnaud's propositions. The adequacy of two series of tasks for describing the psychogenetic relationship between the mentioned conceptual fields, as well as the nature of the children's cognitive strategies for solving the tasks, were analyzed. The seven subjects (6yr 7mo to 7yr 4 mo old) were attending the 1^st grade at an elementary public school. They were grouped in two triads. The first triad has solved tasks based on the equalization of numbers; the second has solved tasks based on the additive composition of numbers. The qualitative analysis of the videotaped data showed adequacies and inadequacies of the tasks according to their probability of transforming some constitutive schemes into the aimed cognitive constructions and peculiarities of children's cognitive strategies. The discussion has highlighted the role of the subjects awareness of their own action and its results, and the meaning of some schemes for the complex psychogenetic affiliations between the examined structures.

Keywords : constructivist learning; psychogenesis of arithmetical concepts; additive and multiplication structural affiliations.

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