Interdisciplinaridade no ensino de estatística

Abstract

The results of this research indicated that incorporating Mathematics into practical contexts can be a positive factor in the students' comprehension process. In fact, the specialized literature presents a broad body of studies that highlight the benefits of interdisciplinarity as a pedagogical strategy to promote better learning outcomes. This research was developed and implemented interdisciplinarily by Mathematics and Physical Education teachers with the aim of investigating the advantages of using interdisciplinarity to enhance the teaching of Mathematics. The study was conducted with 133 second-year high school students, divided into 6 classes, who participated voluntarily. Before the start of the statistics lessons, an initial questionnaire was administered to assess the students' prior knowledge and their perceptions of the applicability of fundamental concepts of Descriptive Statistics. Simultaneously, the Physical Education teacher collected and organized anthropometric data from the students, such as height and body weight, to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI). Subsequently, the students, organized into groups, filled out tables with BMI values, created graphs, calculated averages and measures of dispersion, and compared the data obtained. A second questionnaire was later administered to verify the students' understanding of BMI calculation and to assess whether they had gained a better understanding of how statistical concepts can be applied to other areas of knowledge. The results suggest that pedagogical strategies based on contextualization and interdisciplinarity can positively contribute to enhancing students' perception and learning of statistics