ESTRATÉGIAS DE EXPLORAÇÃO DA SITUAÇÃO CONTRAINTUITIVA “JOGO INTERROMPIDO” POR ALUNOS DO ENSINO MÉDIO

Abstract

In this article, strategies for solving a counterintuitive situation by high school students are analysed and some implications of the use of this task in the teaching of Probability are extracted. The counterintuitive situation is a simpler version of the famous problem posed by Chevalier de Méré to Pascal, which deals with the issue of the division of the prize in a game that was interrupted before it was finished. Two hundred and three high school students participated in the study and answered a questionnaire with nine Probability questions, including the counterintuitive situation that is the object of this study. In terms of results, it should be noted that students have adopted varied strategies, in which they combine analytical arguments with intuitive arguments and in which the idea of equity is very present, whether at the level of the game matches or the game. On the other hand, this diversity of strategies and the mobilization of analytical and intuitive aspects reveal the potential of the task for its exploration in terms of teaching Probability. Thus, such diversity, by favouring confrontation, discussion and sharing among students, contributes to the construction of a multifaceted probability concept and, consequently, well integrated in the learner's mind.

Keywords: Probability. Counterintuitive situation. Strategies of resolution. High school students.