A Neurociência Cognitiva e suas Contribuições para o Ensino e a Aprendizagem da Matemática: uma revisão sistemática da literatura no continente americano

Abstract

This dissertation – linked to the research line in Mathematics Education of the Graduate Program in Science Education and Mathematics Education (PPGECEM) and to the Interfaces in Mathematics Education Research Group (GPIEM) – consists of a bibliographic study in the form of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), with a qualitative approach, whose objective is to understand the contributions of Cognitive Neuroscience to the teaching and learning of Mathematics in the school context. The guiding question of the study was: How do studies conducted in the Americas demonstrate the contributions of Cognitive Neuroscience to the teaching and learning of Mathematics in the school context? To answer this question, a search was conducted in seven databases (ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, PubMed, Science.gov, and PubPsych), resulting in a corpus of 97 scientific articles. The analysis was based on the premise that Cognitive Neuroscience can contribute to making the teaching and learning of Mathematics more meaningful, particularly through an understanding of the neurological mechanisms involved in this process. The results reveal that mathematical learning is a multifaceted phenomenon in which brain plasticity acts as an underlying mechanism of numerical fluency. The studies analyzed highlight the importance of domains such as working memory, the Approximate Number System, and visuospatial skills as foundations for success in symbolic calculation. Furthermore, the results transcend the biological dimension by demonstrating that emotional variables, such as mathematics anxiety, and socioeconomic context influence cognitive performance. The contribution identified in the corpus is manifested at different levels, ranging from the clarification of basic cognitive functions to the validation of pedagogical strategies. Part of the reviewed literature indicates a tension between the precision of laboratory findings, characterized by high internal validity, and their applicability to real educational contexts, such as the classroom, where ecological validity tends to be lower. In this regard, the results suggest that neuroscientific knowledge should inform multimodal and inclusive pedagogical practices while avoiding reductionist approaches that medicalize educational processes. In this context, the teacher is conceived as a mediator capable of fostering the transition from concrete reasoning to symbolic manipulation while respecting the student's biological pace and subjectivity. It is concluded that Cognitive Neuroscience, through an ethical and transdisciplinary dialogue with the teaching and learning of Mathematics, can provide insights into human development beyond biological determinism. Ultimately, understanding the genesis of mathematical knowledge implies recognizing that Mathematics shapes the brain and, simultaneously, is shaped by the environment, in a continuous cycle of action, plasticity, and reorganization.