Inclusion in mathematics teaching: challenges and suggestions on how to overcome them

Abstract

The inclusion of all students in schools is granted by law: everyone must have access and opportunities to learn. This research is part of the main author's master's dissertation and aims to gather the main individualities of special students and suggestions on how to address each of them in mathematics classes. Using qualitative and exploratory methodology, the data collection instrument used was bibliographic research. The main disabilities found in Brazilian students were: intellectual disability, autism spectrum, physical disability, low vision, hearing impairment, high abilities or giftedness, deafness, blindness, deafblindness and multiple disabilities, showing how diverse is the special education public. The main suggestions for strategies found to overcome the challenges arising from these conditions range from small changes in the task presentation (such as dividing them into smaller questions, highlighting information, increasing the size of the text, etc.), to allowing more time to complete an activity, allowing the use of a calculator, manipulative materials or educational software and digital games. These practices also enhance the learning of regular students, and are ways of putting into practice Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which proposes that pedagogical activities be designed, from their conception, with all audiences in mind, whether regular or special. Thus, it suggests multiple forms of presentation, engagement and expression in its guidelines, aiming to achieve inclusion without segregation by covering different ways of understanding, interacting and responding to the same task.