Pedagogical workshops as a methodology for teaching and learning elementary functions in Mathematics Undergraduate Courses

Abstract

A Pedagogical workshop consists of a teaching methodology that can favor the construction of knowledge based on the integration of theory and practice and the tripod of feeling, thinking and acting, favoring both the cognitive aspect and the movement of action-reflection-action on practice. Bearing this in mind, this paper reports a workshop held with 12 undergraduate students from the first and second semesters of the mathematics course at a federal university, aiming to analyze the potential and challenges in the teaching and learning of elementary functions. In the process of planning and running the workshop, five problem-situations were developed from an investigative/exploratory perspective, using a didactic sequence. We tried to develop a working dynamic that would allow all the participants to interact, in the hope of encouraging the learning of functions, as well as experimenting the methodology as a subsidy for future teaching practice in basic education. The challenges encountered include the lack of consistent and up-to-date theoretical and methodological foundations, as well as the limited experience of teacher trainers in using this methodology. Regarding capabilities, the following stand out: a visualization of the content in a practical, contextualized and interdisciplinary way; interaction between students in the search for solutions to problem-situations and exploration of different graphical representations and numerical patterns, helping in the understanding of concepts and the identification of patterns and relationships in elementary functions. The conclusion is that the workshop provided a space for building specific and pedagogical knowledge, in which future teachers shared ideas, strategies and discoveries.