Climate Change

Mathematics as a Tool for Climate Analysis

Abstract

This experience report addresses a pilot class of a workshop developed in the subject Problem Solving, carried out with first-year students of the Mathematics Degree course at the State University of Paraná (UNESPAR) – Paranavaí Campus, in two class hours. The proposal addressed statistics content (arithmetic mean and graphical representation) with the theme “climate change.” Using fictitious data on average monthly temperatures in the cities of Curitiba and Guarapuava, a problem situation was proposed that involved analysis, calculation, and data interpretation. The objective of the workshop was the interpretation and representation of climate data through mean calculations and graph construction, promoting mathematical understanding in real contexts and awareness of climate change. The teaching method used for the development of this workshop is problem solving based on Polya. The students were divided into groups so that they could carry out the analysis, interpretation, and graphic construction of the proposed task, in addition to discussing the theme. The results show that contextualization with current topics favors student engagement and critical understanding, strengthening interdisciplinarity.