TEACHING MIDDLE-AGED STUDENTS: A NEW WAY TO LEARN MATH BY USING AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
R. Costa1, A. Thereza2, R. Gomide3, E. Damasceno4, S. Souza1
1 CEFET Goiás (BRAZIL)
2 Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (BRAZIL)
3 Universidade Estadual de Goiás (BRAZIL)
4 CEFET Rio Verde (BRAZIL)
Over 65.000.000 Brazilians have never attended school in any level. For this reason, the government has been trying to encourage teachers and researchers to develop programs whose aim is to bring those people back to school. By stimulating them to study it´s possible not only to have them integrated into society but also allow them the chance to get a degree.This educational software has been developed in order to overcome the traditional approaches of mathematic didatic to promote its learning among middle-aged groups. By this perspective, this educational software deals with mathematics content in high school with the purpose of improving teachers´ teaching didactic and turning math teaching and learning into something easier and enjoyable. The point is that the way the EJA student, Young and Adult Education, is taught, is different. Therefore, due to the circunstances they can´t attend the same classes a high school adolescent can. The EJA student feels depressed for being older than the usual high school student. Moreover, this pupil works, sometimes has to support a family and he´s got responsibilities in his every day life. It´s clear the fact that if the Brazilian educational system wants to keep this kind of student attending school and accomplishing his studies, it has to promote attractive and state-of-the-art lessons which might create a better learning set. Although the teachers know the EJA students’ learning background, they don´t have many options concerning teaching methods and strategies. It is thought that elderly students have got a slower development. In addition, the subejct, mathematics, is considered one of the hardest in school. The teachers need a strategy that could raise students’ interest. By doing that, they could promote a more meaningful learning need. Teachers are looking forward to having an educational software that could help them teach math in a different way and guarantee the use of computer laboratories that are being installed in the public schools. Therefore, we can conclude that educational softwares can work as a new tool which can increase students’ chance to get in touch with technology and feel that they are digitally included in society. In order to evaluate this software efficacy, a group of students will have practical lessons in the laboratories while another will have their studies done in the classroom. After having the content studied in different ways, both groups of students will be tested and will have their performance compared.