There is always something to teach, there is always something to learn: how and why should we teach mathematics to senior people?

Abstract This paper is related to the development of educative actions with senior people. More specifically, it refers to the Mathematical Education promoted in the space of university extension activities. It is considered that the engagement of senior people in educational environments can contribute to the maintenance and development of cognitive aspects, which are fundamental to their autonomy. In addition, participation in these environments can favor changes in their physical, social, and psychological aspects, enhancing their self-esteem. In this paper, we discuss results of a research which aimed at understanding possible ways to promote such educational actions and to providing elements to a reflection about its contributions to senior people. Data production occurred within the project Conversation about Mathematics with Senior People. Data were collect through interviews, photos, and notes in a research notebook. Data analysis reveals an active engagement of the women and men in the project as well as provides some indication about contributions to the senior people. About their engagement, we considered: a) their interest in discussing the subjects during the meetings; b) their persistence to perform mathematics tasks on their own; c) their argumentation about the ideas showed; and d) their movement of sharing the activities with other people who were not participating in the project. In relation to contribution to senior people, we considered manifestations that expressed: a) improvement of cognitive aspects; b) opportunity for social interaction; and c) the possibility of learning new subjects related to Mathematics.

摘要 本研究围绕面向老年群体的教育活动开发展开，具体聚焦于大学拓展活动（university extension activities）场景下推行的数学教育实践。学界普遍认为，老年群体参与教育环境中的活动，可助力维持并发展其认知能力——而认知能力是维系其自主生活的核心基础。此外，参与此类教育活动还可推动其生理、社交与心理层面的积极转变，进而提升自尊水平。

本文探讨了一项研究的成果，该研究旨在探索推广此类教育活动的可行路径，并为反思其对老年群体的价值提供理论支撑。数据采集工作依托“与老年人畅谈数学”（Conversation about Mathematics with Senior People）项目开展，通过访谈、照片记录及研究笔记完成数据收集。

数据分析结果显示，项目中的男女老年参与者均展现出积极的参与度，同时也为该项目对老年群体的积极影响提供了若干佐证。就参与者的投入程度而言，我们主要考察以下维度：a）对会议中讨论主题的兴趣；b）自主完成数学任务的坚持性；c）对所展示观点的论证与思辨；d）主动向未参与本项目的他人分享活动内容的行为。

而就该项目对老年群体的贡献而言，我们重点观察到以下表现：a）认知能力的改善；b）获得社交互动的契机；c）学习与数学相关新内容的可能性。