INTRODUCTION
The teaching of the initiation to the mathematics for the mental deficient student was already part of the concern of Séguin (1846).This emphasized that the teaching of the initiation to the mathematics for mental deficient had as objective to familiarize him with the quantity observed in the practical life. For Séguin (1846), one, two, three, four...they should be things, objects that surround the student in its day-to-day before being quantity. According to this author (Séguin,1846, p.480),"the idea of the number should always proceed the symbol as well as the child speaks the words before reading".
Another studious one that also worried about the teaching of the initiation to the mathematics for mental deficient students was Montessori (1965). Defending the same thesis of Séguin (1846), Montessori (1965) also gave emphasis to the concrete. For this, in the proposition of its method, it made material instructional involving variables as color, size, thickness, amount, width, texture and it forms.
However, a great progress in the teaching of the mathematics happened in 1950 with of the publication of the book "La genèse du nombre chez l'enfant" contends the studies accomplished by Piaget and Szeminska.
According to Piaget and Szeminska (1950) the base for the acquisition of the general notion of the number meets in previous notions as the one of conservation, correspondence and equivalence. The acquisition of each one of these notions for the child is accomplished in three successive stages, that is to say, understands from the absence ( first stage), going by an intermediary stage (second stage) until the acquisition ( third stage).
Several specialists have been reply the experiments of Piaget and Szeminska (1950). Metton-Granier (1972) also made them accomplishing a study on conservation notions, correspondence and equivalence with mental deficient.
The results obtained by specialist allowed to conclude that the mental deficient, whose mental age is superior to six years doesn't have, necessarily, the conservation notion. Still, in this study, problems were observed in the articulation of the words presented by the subjects. It is possible that the verification of the study is linked to the language problems presented by the subjects.
With relationship to the correspondence notions and equivalence, the results indicated that most of the subjects met in the second apprenticeship. It was concluded that the correspondence disappears when the identity of the illustrations is eliminated formed by the tow collections, indicating that the mental deficient it just takes in consideration the global aspect. Therefore, it can be observed, according to Piaget and Szeminska (1950), that for the student the ability to do groupings is developed natural and progressively. Even so, that is problematic for the deficient mental due to the vocabulary poverty generally presented by this student.
According to the exposed, the present study had as objective to analyze the effectiveness of the application of a teaching procedure individualized trough the acting of subject carriers of mental deficiency in the ability of accomplishing groupings of objects that possess common characteristics ( color, forms, size and thickness)
METHOD
Participants:
They participated in the study eight students
bearer of the Syndrome of Down ( four boys and four girls) in the age group of
seven years of I. C. and considered you according to information contained in
the "life historical". They belong to families whose income understands the
value of a minimum wage ( $ 70.00). They are matriculated and they frequent
specialized institutions. These participants were organized in two groups:
experiment and control. Each group was formed by tow boys and two girls and
identified as "A", "B", "C" and "D" (experimental) and "a", "b", "c" and
"d"(control).
Materials:
Materials were used as "logical" blocks and toys (
balls, cars, dolls, animals, airplanes, etc.)
Local:
The data were collected in the class room destined to
the experiment in the situation of one for one, that is to say, teacher and
participant.
This physical space understands 12m², with walls painted
in the color "ice", floor in wood and roof in the white color. It possesses a
door painted in the blue color and three windows. The illumination is natural
having, however, need of artificial illumination in some moments.
Procedure :
In the procedure for the collection of data
registration records were used to write down the acting of the student: a) in
the initial evaluation; b) during the learning sessions, and c) in the
student's final evaluation. A zero scale was adopted for 10, that is to say,
indicating the absence until the full acquisition of the behavior.
The
participants accomplished groupings of objects that possessed: a) the same
color; b) the same form; c) the same size; and d) the same thickness. 32
sessions were accomplished like this distributed: a session initial evaluation,
30 learning sessions and a session for final evaluation.
For analysis they
were chosen the data collected in a 5th, 15th, 20th and 25th sessions.
RESULTS
With relationship to the results was observed that the participants (experimental and control) in the initial evaluation they met in the level 1 or they didn't possess in the repertoire the behavior of accomplishing groupings o objects with common characteristics ( Table 1).
With relationship to the participants' acting in the learning sessions, the data meet suitable in the Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5 they correspond respectively to the data of 5th, 15th, 20th and 25th sessions.
Being made an analysis of the data contained in these tables is observed that the participants of the experimental group gradually went acquiring the ability to accomplish groupings of objects according to the color, the form the size and the thickness. With relationship to the participants of the control group, exposed to the traditional procedure, according to indication of the data, they didn't acquire the ability proposal.
In what says respect to the acting data in the final evaluation just participant "B", in him groupings of objects as the color, didn't reach the level 10. This probably happened due to some visual problem of the participant. However, if compared with the results of the learning sessions, it is verified that this the given of acting was excellent.
CONCLUSION
As the results obtained by the participants of the experimental group can be conclude about the effectiveness of the teaching procedure individualized to accomplish groupings of objects that possess common characteristics.
This study also allows to end that, according to Piaget and Inhelder (1975), Piaget (1975) and Feldman (1982), is due initially to teach to the student to do groupings for absolute perceptive likeness and, soon after, for function ( for example - school objects).
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
FELDMAN, J. Mathemetics for children with language problems. Rio de Janeiro: Enelivros, 1982.
METTON-GRANIER, M. La acquisición de la noción del número en el niño deficiente mental.In: Trastornos del aprendizagee del calculo.. Barcelona, !972.
MONTESSORI, M. Scientific pedagogy: the child's discovery. Trad. Aury Brunetti, of original La Scoperta dei Bambino, published in 1926. São Paulo, Famboyant, 1965.
PIAGET, J. The construction of the real in the child. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 1975.
PIAGET, J. and SZEMINSKA, A. La gènese du nombre chez l'énfant. Paris:Delachaux et Niestlé, 1950.
PIAGET, J. and INHELDER, B. The development of the physical amounts in the child. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 1985.
SÉGUIN, E. Traitment moral hygiène et èducations de idiotes et outres enfants arrières. Paris: Bailliere, 1846.
Table 1. Data of the participants' performance initial
Table 2. Data of the participants' performance in the 5th session.
Table 3. Data of the participants' performance in the 15th session.
Table 4. Data of the participants' performance in the 20th.
Table 5. Data of the participants' performance in the 25th session.
Table 6. Data of the participants' performance in the final evaluation.
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