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- Humour to learn Mathematics: mathematical tasks to laugh and learnPublication . Menezes, Luís; Flores, Pablo; Viseu, Floriano; Gomes, Helena Margarida dos Santos Vasconcelos; Ribeiro, António Augusto Gaspar; martins, ana patrícia; Guitart, MónicaGood mood and wellbeing make work and learning much easier. And this is what humour is really all about, to make people feel well and to make them laugh. Humour will minimise stressful situations and facilitate communication. Among the different forms of humour, graphic humour, based on comic strips and cartoons, is constantly present in magazines, newspapers and on the internet. In the HUMAT: Humour in Mathematics teaching project, we have created a set of mathematical tasks based on different graphic humour situations created by different authors that are available on the internet and in magazines and focus on several mathematical contents which are to be taught over the different school years. This book is therefore made for students and its aim is to support the learning of Mathematics, both in the classroom and outside the classroom, always relying on humour and good mood.
- Humor in mathematics teaching: tasks for the classroomPublication . Menezes, Luís; Gomes, Helena Margarida dos Santos Vasconcelos; Ribeiro, António Augusto Gaspar; martins, ana patrícia; Flores, Pablo; Viseu, Floriano; Oliveira, A. M.; Balula, João Paulo; Delplancq, VéroniqueThis book, Humour in Mathematics Teaching: tasks for the classroom, is a corollary of Humat Research Project (Humour in Mathematics Teaching), developed by the Higher School of Education of Viseu (Portugal), in partnership with the University of Minho (Portugal), the University of Granada (Spain) and the University of Mendoza (Argentina), with the support of the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (Portugal) and of the CI&DETS. The project rests upon two fundamental assumptions. On the one hand, it assumes that humour plays a crucial role in creating a learning environment that can boost the students’ motivation and encourage them to learn mathematics. On the other hand, it assumes that the understanding of humour and the learning of Mathematics are two activities that require a good reasoning capacity. It also recognises that the exploratory teaching of mathematics, based on the work of the students leading to the completion of challenging mathematical tasks, provides a high potential for learning. All those considerations led to the birth of this book that offers mathematical tasks with a humorous twist and whose main goal is to fulfil these two functions: to persuade students to learn and make them think about humorous situations that involve mathematical concepts. To achieve this goal, the book is organised into two sections. The first is devoted to a brief introduction to the concept of humour and the other concepts that are associated to it approaches the concept initially in a broader sense, then focusing on the teaching of Mathematics. The largest section of the book, the second, is devoted to the presentation of mathematical tasks that are based on panels or comic strips involving humorous and witty content. The tasks suggested were planned for an exploratory-type teaching of mathematics and therefore they generally have an open nature. Almost invariably, we start by asking the student to describe the situation presented and to say whether or not they consider it funny. After this first request, we present others of a more specific nature. The selected tasks focus on mathematical topics that are taught in basic education. Our proposals can be used in two different circumstances. Some were designed to introduce new topics and others to consolidate previously learned knowledge. Tasks can be used and explored at different school levels, as long as we adapt the questions’ instructions or the way we guide the students’ work. The tasks are different according to the kind of reaction they are meant to trigger in students. Some tasks value affective/emotional aspects as they seek to seize the students’ attention and keep them engaged in their learning, thinking about an unexpected situation presented. Other tasks are focused on the development of cognitive and intellectual aspects. With those tasks, the students’ work goes far beyond the mere focus on learning. It represents challenges that arise from the cognitive ruptures that were conveyed by the proposed situations/tasks. For each task, we present a brief description of the situation and then we come up with didactic considerations about the several questions involved.
- Humor in mathematics teaching: tasks for the classroomPublication . Menezes, Luís; Gomes, Helena Margarida dos Santos Vasconcelos; Ribeiro, António Augusto Gaspar; martins, ana patrícia; Flores, Pablo; Viseu, Floriano; Oliveira, Ana Maria; Matos, Isabel Aires de; Balula, João Paulo; Delplancq, VéroniqueThis book, Humour in Mathematics Teaching: tasks for the classroom, is a corollary of HUMAT Research Project (Humour in Mathematics Teaching), developed by the Higher School of Education of Viseu (Portugal), in partnership with the University of Minho (Portugal), the University of Granada (Spain) and the University of Mendoza (Argentina), with the support of the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu (Portugal) and of the CI&DETS. The project rests upon two fundamental assumptions. On the one hand, it assumes that humour plays a crucial role in creating a learning environment that can boost the students’ motivation and encourage them to learn mathematics. On the other hand, it assumes that the understanding of humour and the learning of Mathematics are two activities that require a good reasoning capacity. It also recognises that the inquiry-based mathematics teaching, grounded on the work of the students leading to the completion of challenging mathematical tasks, provides a high potential for learning. All those considerations led to the birth of this book that offers mathematical tasks with a humorous twist and whose main goal is to fulfil these two functions: to persuade students to learn and make them think about humorous situations that involve mathematical concepts. To achieve this goal, the book is organised into two sections. The first is devoted to a brief introduction to the concept of humour and the other concepts that are associated to it approaches the concept initially in a broader sense, then focusing on the teaching of Mathematics. The largest section of the book, the second, is devoted to the presentation of mathematical tasks that are based on panels or comic strips involving humorous and witty content.
- Perspectivas de Professores de Matemática sobre o Humor e o seu Valor EducacionalPublication . Menezes, Luís; Fernandes, José António; Viseu, Floriano; Ribeiro, António Augusto Gaspar; Flores, PabloAt present, humour has an increasing acceptance and appreciation, because we recognize the positive contributions to the well-being of people in contexts as diverse as health, business, and entertainment. What happens in Education and, in particular, in Mathematics teaching? To answer this question, we designed this quantitative study with a sample of 1088 Iberian mathematics teachers (Portuguese and Spanish), that teach from the early years through to higher education. Through the use of a questionnaire, we seek to find out if Portuguese and Spanish teachers who teach Mathematics, throughout the various levels of education, appreciate humor, what perspective they have of it and its educational value, and if they use it in teaching the discipline. The study also sought to determine if the teaching level in which teachers teach mathematics has an influence on the perception and use of humor for instructional purposes. The study also investigates if there are any significant differences between Portuguese and Spanish teachers in relation to these aspects. The results show that the overwhelming majority of teachers, at all levels of teaching, recognize the meaning of humor, consider that they have a sense of humor, justify its use in mathematics teaching and have already seen it being used or used it in their classes, with the goal of creating a good learning environment and making students think. The study reveals differences among teachers at different levels of teaching, indicating that there is a greater predisposition of teachers in the initial years, in comparison to other years, to value and use humor in mathematics teaching. The study also reveals differences between Portuguese and Spanish teachers, with Portuguese presenting a higher average agreement in most items.