Early Years Math: A Study with Undergraduates in Mathematics based on the Principles of Cultural - Historical Theory

Abstract

Background: It is common the idea that the responsibility for learning mathematics worked in the first years of schooling rests solely with the teacher at this stage. This is a mistake since these contents run throughout basic education, and it is important that teachers at other levels understand the mathematics of the early years of elementary school. Objectives: The article aims to discuss the knowledge of mathematics undergraduate students about mathematics in the early years of elementary school. Design: The theoretical and methodological support is based on the assumptions of cultural-historical theory (CHT), which shows that the subject develops and impacts the reality where he/she lives by interactions with others through the acquired knowledge. Setting and participants: The study space consisted of workshops on the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, carried out in the project “Knowing the mathematics taught in the early years” and the participants were seven undergraduates from the mathematics degree course. Data collection and analysis: The empirical data were systematised by the organization of the episode "Understanding the teaching of basic mathematics", composed of four scenes. Results: They reveal that when it comes to teaching mathematics in the early years, students show a weakness in relation to basic mathematical knowledge and didactic knowledge to teach them. Conclusions: Although the results come from a specific context, we concluded that it is important for mathematics undergraduates to be able to discuss mathematics teaching in all stages of basic education.