Reading and interpretation of text in questions of the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad of public schools

Abstract

Contemporaneity requiresskills such as reading and interpretation that allow the understanding and criticism of information, even in the field of mathematics. This paper, of qualitative nature, reportsthe development  of  reading  and  interpretation  of  texts  in the  questions of  the  Brazilian  Mathematics Olympiad of Public Schools (OBMEP), with students of the 6th gradeof a PublicSchool of theSão PauloState.  The  use  of  the  Project-Based  Learning (PBL) strategy,  applied during sevenremote meetings, imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic,carried outby the Google Meetplatform,is reported. The meetings used tutorials on Youtube, diagnostic and evaluative activities on Google Formsand creation of mathematical games on the Kahootplatform. The discussion of the results was based upon fourcriteria: i) description of the work activities; ii) numberof correct answers in diagnostic test and final evaluation; iii) self-assessment results; and iv) students' statements about the proposal. The results indicated a significant reduction in the number of errors in OBMEP questions, greater interest in this Olympiads, improvement of the reading and interpretation skills, and problem solving, as well asin the development of socio-emotional skills. It is concluded that the application of PBL, in the remoteway, integrating different educational media, proved to be effective even during the COVID-19 pandemic period.