Interactive Mathematics

Abstract

Mathematics is a dynamic science, present since the beginning of human history, used to solve problems and develop planning strategies. Therefore, it is born from man's needs, a continuous creation, always in movement. This reflection, however, is not common and what is perceived is a problem associated with the ways in which subjects – students and the general community – conceive mathematics, associated with a science that is not very accessible and, when accessible, as a privilege of “brilliant minds”. . In this sense, this text aims to present an experience of creating spaces for interaction between subjects, different objects, and mathematical representations, with the aim of demystifying access to this science and providing moments of rapprochement and promotion of interest and curiosity in mathematics. The initial milestone was through a teaching, research and extension project developed in 2022 by students and teachers of the Mathematics Degree course at the Instituto Federal Catarinense – IFC Campus Concórdia. The project encompassed the study and selection of different objects and representations that were strategically organized in spaces with high circulation in the institution and outside, offering the possibility for the public to interact with the objects/representations. “Totems” were organized, containing freely accessible informational materials and interaction objects. In addition to physical interaction, a virtual space was created on a social network to reach a greater number of subjects and democratize access to the knowledge covered. Initially, the totems were located in the spaces of Campus Concórdia and, later, in a school and in the public space of a municipal book fair. Observations from scholarship students, materialized in written form, were considered in collecting information about the effects of the project on the subjects. In the teaching dimension, the interaction of a significant number of subjects with objects results, raising the capacity for mental and logical-mathematical organization. Within the scope of extension, the articulation between IFC, its students and teachers and the external community. In the research, observations about the effects that the objects brought/provided, from the point of view of students, students and other subjects who accessed them. The final reflection suggests that subjects have difficulties in relating mathematical knowledge to objects of representation, associating mathematics with abstract and uninteresting ideas, with numbers and incipient algorithmic representations of meaning. Therefore, actions that show practical, playful and interesting aspects of mathematics become important catalysts for demystifying beliefs about the inaccessibility of this science to different subjects in society.