A deteção de simetria na infância como base para o desenvolvimento espacial e nas áreas STEM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48489/quadrante.44327Resumo
As competências espaciais desenvolvidas precocemente nas crianças predizem o desempenho futuro em Matemática e em áreas STEM. Este estudo investiga a capacidade de crianças de 4 e 5 anos (N = 41) para detetarem transformações de simetria utilizando quadrados mágicos coloridos e simplificados. Analisámos o reconhecimento da invariância em rotações e reflexões através de tarefas visuais e atividades com papel vegetal. Os resultados da ANOVA indicam que a simetria rotacional se manteve estável entre idades, exceto nas rotações de 270°, que evidenciaram melhorias aos cinco anos. Em contraste, a simetria reflexiva revelou ganhos significativos, sobretudo nos eixos vertical e horizontal. Estes resultados sugerem que as tarefas de reflexão exigem um esforço cognitivo superior ao das rotações. Assim, as experiências educativas precoces devem introduzir gradualmente atividades de rotação antes das de reflexão, de modo a consolidar as bases para o desenvolvimento das competências espaciais e do raciocínio sobre simetria. Este estudo contribui ainda para as discussões recentes sobre a relevância pedagógica de aprendizagens espaciais e manipulativas na educação STEM em idades precoces.
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