ESTUDO DA ESTRUTURA COGNITIVA DOS ALUNOS DOS 9.º (14-15 ANOS DE IDADE) E 12.º ANOS (17-18 ANOS DE IDADE) DE ESCOLARIDADE SOBRE O CONCEITO DE PROBABILIDADE: O CONTRIBUTO DAS TEORIAS DOS CONCEITOS NUCLEARES E DOS CONCEITOS THRESHOLD.

Based on the Theories of Nuclear Concepts and Threshold Concepts, this paper aims at presenting the results of the cognitive structure of Portuguese students in years 9 (14-15 year-olds) and 12 (17-18 year-olds), concerning the notion of Probability. After having been taught the subject, 344 students were inquired in a first moment, and 325 in a second one. The Pathfinder Associative Networks (PFNETs) thus obtained led to identify the most relevant concepts in the students' conceptual framework, their respective organization and the possible relationship between the Theories of Nuclear Concepts and Threshold Concepts. The results show that both theories are useful tools to organize the teaching practice and a valuable and effective pedagogical framework, which should be taken into account in the teaching and learning processes of Probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]