Concepções e práticas do professor de Matemática

Abstract

This article presents, according to my experience as a teacher and a student of mathematics, researches which have already been done on the theme of conceptions and practices of the mathematics teacher. The revised researches tend to study the way teacher’s conceptions influence their own practice in class. As far as practices are concerned, conceptions are taken as preexistent.

As far as teachers are concerned, it is said that they act according to their thoughts but it’s not questioned why they do it that way. No one speculates on the origins of the teacher’s practices in light of their professional background, nor considers teacher’s “submission” because of institutional factors. This article claims that in such cases the classroom is not the only possible origin of those conceptions.

Understanding the conceptions surrounding the teacher’s methodology in class and specially considering the origins and creation of those conceptions by the submission process, seems to be the best way to brake the “silence barrier” and expose those practices which are also used as an institucional evaluation criterium. This criterium is used to reveal the success or failure of the students, excluding failed students and exposing the succeeding ones as the “ideal pupils”.

On the contrary, to understand the working process of the conceptions in class is to consider the classroom as a place where both student and teacher are in constant development, assuming temporary statements as being true. The classroom must be seen as a place where the conceptions might be able to indicate the best ways to recognize the “real student”.