Trabalho colaborativo e desenvolvimento profissional de professores de Matemática: Reflexões sobre duas experiências brasileiras

Abstract

This paper describes and comments two experiences of professional development involving teachers, future teachers and researchers. The first group (Campinas), formed by four public mathematics teachers and two university instructors, worked intensively for one year. The second, in Ouro Preto, involved mathematics teachers, future mathematics teachers and university researchers who collaborated for three years in semester courses whose subjects were defined by the participants. In this case, the group included participants who stayed from the first course and others who began during later semesters.

The results suggest that in both cases, growth of both mathematical and teaching knowledge of all participants, as well as a greater disposition for the creation and implementation of activities in classroom. Moreover, both groups constituted places where authentic exchange and reflection took place, or spaces in which the participants felt free to express doubts, difficulties, to ask for aid, and to share ideas. Some differences between groups exist as well. The data supports the assertion that the first group (Campinas) reached a deeper level of reflection and of influence on teaching practice. The second group (Ouro Preto), perhaps due to rotation of its participants, developed in a much slower way.

On the other hand, the Ouro Preto group has characteristics that are more viable and operational and can be easily improved upon. The results of this study demonstrate the wealth of the exchange of experiences between the participants and the slow, gradual, but very significant transformation of the teachers participating in this work