Números racionais : concepções e conhecimento profissional de professores e as relações com o livro didático e a prática docente

Abstract

This research is included in the Group of Studies and Research in Mathematics Education - GRUEPEM linked to the Graduate Program in Education, Federal University of Mato Grosso - PPGE / UFMT in the line of Science Education and Mathematics Education, under the orientation of Dr. Gladys Denise Wielewski. This is the result of an investigation into two public schools in the state of Mato Grosso, participants in the Project Observatory of Education with Focus on Mathematics and the Sciences Initiation - polo UFMT, The subjects of the research three teachers who teach in the final years of elementary school in order to answer the question: Professional knowledge and concepts that teachers use to teach rational numbers and that these relationships have adopted the textbook and practice teaching? Our research is based on theoretical ideas of Ponte (1992, 1993) and Lee Shulman (1986, 1987, 1989), the latter understands professional knowledge as a body of knowledge that teachers should know in order to teach and their teaching can lead to student learning. This research presents characteristics of qualitative research, for this reason the study was supported in Bogdan and Biklen (1994) to better describe the environment and the object searched. This study was developed by questionnaires, observation of teaching practice, interview and documental analysis. The documental analysis was made up by analysis of annual planning, the notebooks of students, evaluation activities and didactic book adopted. In this way, we identified some relations between the conceptions that the subjects of this research have on the teaching of rational numbers and their teaching practices, being the first so has influenced the second determinant, for example, in designing the fractions in partwhole meaning, teachers have privileged situations, activities and assessments in which this meaning was evidenced, consequently have other meanings secondary role or have not been discussed, as is the case of the meaning reason. We note that there are some gaps in the professional knowledge of these teachers, mainly about the curricular knowledge, as they themselves say little known official documents guiding, in this way the conceptions of teachers are quite different from those proposed in these documents. We reiterate the importance of the didactic book in the classroom, as he continues to exercise strong influence on the practice of teachers investigated.