Workshop

Soroban and teaching Mathematics for people with visual impairments

Authors

  • Cristiane C. F. Cintra Professor Adjunto IIIInstituto de Ciências ExatasUniversidade Federal de Alfenas
  • Débora Felício Faria

Keywords:

mathematics education, abacus, courseware

Abstract

The teaching of mathematics based on lectures and theoretical classes, which revol-
ves around visual stimuli can be unfavorable to the understanding of the content by students
with visual impairment. Therefore, the concrete teaching materials, assume a role in effective
teaching-learning process for these students. The Soroban, or Japanese abacus, is a calculation
tool that encourages motor skills, develops the logical reasoning and memory and requires more
tactile than visual stimuli to be operated. Therefore, it can be an important tool, with educa-
tional purpose, in order to contribute to the teaching and learning of arithmetic, for example,
for students with visual impairment. But the use of Soroban in classroom for people with visual
impairment is not yet widespread in Brazilian schools. Although the Soroban has been adapted
for the blind people in Brazil in the last decade of 1940, this instrument has been used recently,
which demand new studies about its contribution in the classroom. In addition, most math tea-
chers don’t know how to use it and don’t even know that its use should be provided by the school
system. So, spread the knowhow of using Soroban becomes vital when the Brazilian education
network goes through modifications to become a truly inclusive system.

References

BRASIL. Ministério da Educação. Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação.

(1996) Lei no 9.394 de 20 de dezembro de 1996. Bras´ılia: MEC. Disponível em: http://www6.senado.gov.br/legislacao/ListaTextoIntegral.action?id=75723. Acesso em 09 nov. 11.

BRASIL. Ministério da Educação, Secretaria de Educação Especial. (2006) A construção do conceito de número e o pré-soroban. Brasília: MEC/SEESP.

BRASIL. Ministério da Educação, Secretaria de Educação Especial. (2008) Política Nacional de Educação Especial na Perspectiva da Educação Inclusiva. MEC/SEESP. Disponível em: http://portal.mec.gov.br/arquivos/pdf/politicaeducespecial.pdf. Acesso em: 26 nov. 11.

BRASIL. Ministério da Educação, Secretaria de Educação Especial. (2009) Soroban: manual de técnicas operatórias para pessoas com deficiência visual. Brasília: MEC/SEESP.

SOUZA, R. N. S. (2004) Soroban: Uma ferramenta para ajudar a pensar, contribuindo na inclusão de alunos portadores de necessidades visuais. In: ENCONTRO NACIONAL DE EDUCAÇÃO MATEMÁTICA, 8, 2004. Recife. Anais do VIII ENEM. Pernambuco: UFPE. 1-9. Disponível em: http://www.sbem.com.br/files/viii/pdf/03/MC84642289968.pdf.

Acesso em: 30 out. 11.

TEIXEIRA, R. A. G. (2006) O uso do Soroban como princípio lógico no ensino da Matemática. Universidade Federal de Goiás. Goiânia: FE/UFG. Disponível em: http://www.colegioglauciacosta.com.br/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=8. Acesso em: 10 nov. 11.

Published

23-12-2013

How to Cite

Cintra, C. C. F., & Faria, D. F. (2013). Workshop: Soroban and teaching Mathematics for people with visual impairments. Sigmae, 2(2), 1–6. Retrieved from https://publicacoes.unifal-mg.edu.br/revistas/index.php/sigmae/article/view/212