Da reflexão à investigação: percursos de desenvolvimento profissional de professores do 1.º ciclo na área de Matemática

Abstract

This article analyzes the professional development of primary school teachers concerning reflection, instructional knowledge and professional practices, when they participate in a collaborative project focused in mathematical communication in the classroom. The study had an interpretative research methodology and a case study design and was undertaken during two years, with the participation of three primary school mathematics teachers.

The results of the study show that the teachers developed professionally in several dimensions. In particular, they developed their reflective capacity, moving from simple forms of reflection such as remembering and telling to more sophisticated forms such as systematic inquiry. Furthermore, they changed in a significant way their communication practices in the classroom, adopting patterns of interaction centred in discussion, based in challenging mathematical tasks.

Their instructional knowledge showed to be highly sensitive to mathematical knowledge; in some teachers it was as clear bounding element and in others it was a facilitating and action. The teachers’ professional development seemed to be significantly supported by reflection and by the collaborative and investigative features of the project. element of thinking