Micropaths in the study of Symmetry

conditions and restrictions in continuing education with Mathematics teachers

Abstract

This article is an excerpt from a doctoral research that investigated possibilities for developing micro Study and Research Paths (PEP) through a praxeological study developed in continuing education for mathematics teachers. The training was carried out with a group of twelve teachers working in basic education, in which we worked with didactic systems intrinsic to the studies of geometric contents supported by the SRP methodology. All sessions were recorded in audio and video and later transcribed for data production analysis. For the study and development of the SRP, we sought to understand the Anthropological Theory of Didactics (ATD), with emphasis on the didactic paradigm questioning the world and the levels of codetermination, identifying conditions and restrictions that permeate the pedagogical practices of the teachers participating in the research. By analyzing the didactic systems, we could see that teachers are dependent on textbooks and that this resource has directed their pedagogical practices. We also saw how much the conditions imposed in their academic training end up being reflected in the way they conduct their practices in the classroom, reproducing a teaching directed by the paradigm of the visit to the works with regard to the teaching of Geometry. In addition, we observed  the teachers’ need to study and seek out more information about the concepts covered and how much their praxeologies are in the doing block, with few theoretical and technological justifications. In this scenario, we saw that the SRP caused a praxeological destabilization of their geometric knowledge in teachers.