Trabalho de projetos no processo de ensinar e aprender estatística na universidade

Abstract

In this research, we look forward to understanding how the Pedagogical Project Project Works and Statistical Education at University may contribute to the students professional development of which they are participants. The above project was elaborated in the Mathematics Department of the Federal University of Uberlândia along with the Statatistics and Probability subject. The individuals involved in this project are those students who initiated the Mathematics Course in 2004 and that during our survey they were taking their fourth term in the second semester/2005. The reported project, our research object, was implemented upon five semesters between the years 2004/2006. The dynamics of such project is based on an approach which contemplates the production of projects, given that students are constantly involved while taking the Statistics and Probability subject. In order to understand the problematical nature of the research, whatever it should be, and as the experience with the Pedagogical Project Project Works and Statistical Education at University proved to contribute to the professional growth of students who are part of the project, we carried out interpretative and qualitative investigations within the participant research patterns. The gathering of data was done through observations, allusion documents to the Project, questionnaires and interviews. In the end, we established a data crossing to confront the Project aims and the purpose of this research which was performed from two axis of analysis: first, we analysed the Pedagogical Project Project Works and Statistical Education at University trajectory. Second, we discussed the contribution of this pedagogical practice for the students professional progress. We noticed that the students started to unfold knowledge towards research, teamwork, use of computational means, research methodology, investigation allied with statistical methods. At last, we believe that the students had, added to their participation in this work, the opportunity to enhance their learning for their future career.