Identification of mathematical terms used in elementary education and their correspondence in portuguese sign language: an exploratory study in inclusive schools

• Autor(a) principal: Cruz-Santos, Anabela
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: MARTINHO, Maria Helena, SARAIVA, João Paulo, ALMENDRA, Isabel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Diálogos e Perspectivas em Educação Especial (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/dialogoseperspectivas/article/view/13254
• topic: Mathematical terms; Deafness; Portuguese Sign Language; Basic education; Termos matemáticos; Surdez; Língua Gestual Portuguesa; Ensino Básico; Términos matemáticos, Sordera, LGP, Educación Básica

the Mathematics is a fundamental teaching area, whose language specificity represents, for deaf students, a challenge to their learning, due to the absence of representative gestures of many concepts/terms. In Portugal, reference schools for deaf students have specialized resources, namely Portuguese Sign Language Teachers (LGP) and LGP Interpreters, with the aim of mitigating the limitations associated with language issues. The objectives of the present study are (a) to identify the mathematical terms in the 1st and 2nd cycle of Basic Education for which there is no direct translation into the LGP, (b) to understand how Interpreters work in Mathematics classes in the face of the lack of gestures for some mathematical terms, and c) understand the collaborative process in Mathematics classes between LGP Teachers, Mathematics Teachers and LGP Interpreters. In this study, a semi-structured interview was applied, guided by topics in a table format, in which participants are asked to identify the mathematical terms/concepts that are part of the curricular matrix of the 1st and 2nd cycle of Basic Education. Three LGP Teachers and three LGP Interpreters, aged between twenty-six and thirty-four, participated in the study. The results obtained allowed a survey of mathematical terms for which there is no translation for LGP. Additionally, it was found that LGP Teachers tend to teach restricted content related only to the subject they teach, although they have shown themselves to be available to collaborate in the search for effective responses in the absence of formal gestures for some terms/ mathematical concepts, while the Interpreters adopt different strategies in the face of this constraint. This study emphasizes the need to create and disseminate gestural symbols representing the various mathematical terms that make up the school curriculum, as well as the importance of collaborative work between the various educational agents involved in the teaching-learning process with deaf students.