Teachers highlight ‘new teaching strategies’ in training course
Program for elementary school teachers will have three more meetings at IMPA
9/6/2025
On Saturday (7), teachers from different schools in Rio de Janeiro’s municipal network met at IMPA with a common goal: to improve math teaching strategies for students in the early years. Promoted by the institute, in partnership with UniRio, the “Training Course for Primary School Teachers” aims to help train teachers and improve students’ performance in the subject, especially in the Olimpíada Mirim-OBMEP.
Aline Patrício, coordinator of Ciep Samuel Wainer, in Tijuca, also highlighted the importance of the training for her teaching practice. With experience in elementary school, she is now looking to adapt to the demands of students in the early years. “It’s an opportunity to better understand how to teach math to classes with younger students.”
A 5th grade teacher at the Capistrano de Abreu school in Jardim Botânico, Nancy Rosa said that she saw the course as an opportunity to learn about “new teaching strategies for working with students in mathematics”.
With activities developed in a workshop format, the course helps to develop questions for the Olimpíada Mirim. “The OBMEP questions generally seem far removed from our classroom, but in fact they are not content-based. They stimulate creativity and logical reasoning. It’s incredible to see the answers these kids come up with, and that’s because the younger students aren’t bound by content. They have very open minds and are producing ideas that sometimes we can’t imagine. That’s why it’s very important to help them build this kind of reasoning,” said Adriana Pimenta, a professor at UniRio and the project’s coordinator.
The teacher training course focuses on creative methodologies that can be adapted to different school contexts, promoting dynamic, playful and fun math teaching for children. The program will have three more face-to-face meetings at IMPA.
“Last year, my daughter went to Disney with the Carioca Olympics and I want my students to have that opportunity too. I’m here to get a different perspective on mathematics and learn a more playful approach,” said a teacher from the Luiz Paulo Horta Municipal School in Rocinha.
The “Training Course for Elementary School Teachers” is one of the quid pro quos agreed with CCPar for the transfer of space to IMPA Tech – the institute’s undergraduate program.
The first phase of the OBMEP Junior Olympics will take place on August 26
In its 4th edition, the Olimpíada Mirim-OBMEP has already brought together almost eleven million students from the 2nd to the 5th year of elementary school from public and private schools all over Brazil. The aim of the scientific competition is to awaken interest in mathematics from the earliest school years. The exams are designed according to the age group of the participants and are the gateway to the world of scientific Olympiads. This year, the first and second phase exams will take place on August 26 and November 11, respectively.
Held by IMPA, the Olimpíada Mirim-OBMEP is supported by B3 Social and promoted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the Ministry of Education (MEC).
