Conceptual development and education of teachers who teach mathematics: a study from the cultural-historical theory

• Grant number: 14/00124-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: August 11, 2014
• End date: December 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Educational Teaching and Learning
• Principal Investigator: Vanessa Dias Moretti
• Grantee: Vanessa Dias Moretti
• Host Investigator: Luis Radford
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Laurentian University, Sudbury Campus, Canada

Abstract

From historical and cultural perspective, the proposed research aims to analyze the implication of the Cultural Theory of Objectification - proposed by Radford which consider the mathematical concepts in the process of human production and its cultural significance in their phylogeny and ontogeny - in organization of Mathematics teaching processes and in proposals of teacher training courses. The concept of objectification, understood as the transformation of the cultural objective knowledge into an object of consciousness, insofar establish a relationship between history of concepts and culturally situated learning is able to base and guide strategies and teaching tools in the organization of mathematics teaching which take in account the dialectic perspective between individual and collective into the movement of onto and phylogenetic conceptual learning. From cultural-historical framework, the Cultural Theory of Objectification is becoming as an important theoretical tool for the research on teaching and learning of mathematics. Due to it, this research project has as the main objective the integration of the researcher at the activities developed by the Laboratory of Cultural Semiotics and Thought Mathematician at Laurentian University (Sudbury, Canada) in order to investigate and deeply understand the theoretical and methodological framework used, the relations between the cultural-historical theory and the mathematics teaching as well as the conceptual development in teacher education proposed by this research center. The activities to be held by the researcher during the research period include monitoring and analyzing of teacher training actions developed by the laboratory, as well as a curriculum documents and supporting materials analysis. The documental analysis will aim to identify its pedagogical principles, objectives, content and methodology and also references to the history of mathematical concept and how this organization is considered for the actions of teacher training. The empirical data collected in the laboratory will be analyzed according to the following initial categories: actions that reveal the relationship of the proposal developed with the propositions of the Cultural Theory of Objectification; pedagogical approach of mathematical concepts and their relation to the history of the concept; pedagogical approach of the mathematical concepts and their relationship to cultural signification. As one of the search outcomes we believe that this investigation - based in a insertion and study of contemporary appropriation of Historical-Cultural Theory in the area of mathematics education - can contribute with the research and teacher training activities to be held by the researcher at the Department of Education and the at the Post Graduate Program in Education at the Federal University of São Paulo. Moreover, as another important result, it is expected that the immersion in teacher training methodology developed by Canadian laboratory added the deep understanding of their theoretical bases result in new proposals for teacher education that impact both initial training and continuing education of teachers who teach mathematics developed by the Brazilian University. (AU)