Desempenho matemático e lesão cerebral: contradizendo explicações simplistas

• Autor(a) principal: Feldberg, Silvia Cristina de Freitas
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da PUC_SP
• Texto Completo: https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/15971
• topic: Habilidades matemáticas; Lesão cerebral; Psicologia sócio-histórica; Neuropsicologia; Mathematical skills; Brain injury; Social-historical psychology; Neuropsychology; CNPQ::CIENCIAS HUMANAS::EDUCACAO::FUNDAMENTOS DA EDUCACAO::PSICOLOGIA EDUCACIONAL

This study evaluated the mathematical performance of children and adolescents with congenital or acquired brain injuries, trying to identify whether (and how) the neuropsychological profile reflects in this performance. Since math learning is central to a successful school experience, it is important to identify whether the brain lesions necessarily promote, as claimed by teachers, learning difficulties, or whether, instead, the plasticity of the brain, combined with a good school, discredits that statement. The theoretical approach is based on the neuropsychology and the socio-historical conception of human development, considering the importance of the biological basis and, moreover, of the social world in which the process of learning and human development occurs. The study investigated 5 male adolescents diagnosed with brain damage. The boys were 12 to 15 years old and were attending series 6th to 9th in private schools in the state of Sao Paulo (BR). They answered a battery of tests, which included verification of their IQs, their performance in Math and also a neuropsychological evaluation. The procedures were applied individually, lasting three to four sessions of 90 minutes in average. The results were analyzed according to the standards required by each instrument. For performance in mathematics, qualitative and quantitative analyses of the tests were made. The results showed that, among the neuropsychological functions, the visual constructive and the executive one showed more pronounced problems. Regarding Math performance, the greatest difficulties were detected in skills related to Space and Form, Information Processing, Multiplication and Problems Resolution. However, since the participants are similar to the average Brazilian students in terms of IQ and mathematical performance, the inadequate functioning of their psychological functions seems to be due not to the brain damage but to the precarious teaching of that school discipline. Thus, the research findings defy simplistic analysis, which establish a causal relationship between learning difficulties and brain damage. The recommendation, once again, is to invest efforts in promoting teachers professional development so that they can offer to any student the necessary incentive, motivation, help and guidance to conquer what society expects and schools must deliver