The Art of Origami as a Practice of Teaching for Space Geometry

José Erildo Lopes Júnior

(Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Abstract: This work presents a proposal to understand the concept and to work on the basics of spatial geometry (face, edge, vertex) by constructing folds in manipulable material, particularly origami, and allowing the student to manipulate the object under study to analyze its properties and characteristics. The focus of the work was to help organize the contents of geometry facilitating the construction of meanings through a space of exchange and socialization. In the dynamics of this activity, carried out in groups, students used low cost materials, avoided waste, and were able to observe and compare the results obtained individually. Each student can make at least one piece and then join it in order to form a figure. Then the students discussed the questions proposed by the teacher and clarified their doubts. This activity was developed with a full time class of Elementary School II in a municipal school in Itabirito-MG, with 25 students, aged between 11 and 15 years. At the end of the process, it was possible to observe the involvement of the participating adolescents as well as the apprehension of the proposed concepts.

Key words: mathematics teaching, modular origami, full-time education, geometry