A história como meio para a recomposição de aprendizagem das operações aritméticas: uma disciplina eletiva proposta no Ensino Médio

The critical indices highlighted by the Permanent System for the Evaluation of Basic Education in Ceará (SPAECE), combined with school-based diagnostic assessments and the post-pandemic educational context, strongly indicate the need for actions aimed at the recomposition of learning in Mathematics. This scenario has encouraged the implementation of pedagogical proposals designed to address the gaps identified in the teaching and learning process. Within this context, the present study aims to report the experience developed in an elective Mathematics course conducted at EEMTI Hermínio Barroso, located in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. The pedagogical proposal was structured with a focus on the recomposition of learning related to basic arithmetic operations, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, which are essential contents for students’ progression to more complex levels of Mathematics. From a methodological perspective, a qualitative approach of an applied nature was adopted, with systematic recording of classroom activities throughout the entire didactic process. In the activity entitled “Medieval Duel”, two numeral systems were contrasted: the Roman numeral system and the Indo-Arabic numeral system. The results showed that, by confronting the limitations of each system, students were able to understand positional logic, the function of zero, the organization of digits, and the procedures involved in performing calculations. It is therefore concluded that the choice of a historical narrative within an elective course can constitute a didactic strategy that goes far beyond mere curiosity, as it enables the re-signification of knowledge, the filling of learning gaps, and the recomposition of learning, promoting a form of learning that is more meaningful to students.