Concepções, práticas lectivas e reflexão dos professores de Matemática do 2.º ciclo em relação à calculadora

Abstract

This study, based on a teacher education experience, seeks to ascertain how basic education teachers (of cycle 2) integrate calculators into their professional practices and how inservice teacher education may help them to reflect on this issue. The methodology was qualitative and interpretive, involving three case studies with data collection through interviews and observation of teacher education and classroom supervision sessions. The results indicate that one of the teachers is very favorable to using the calculator, stressing that such use should be carefully monitored, and has a practice consistent with these conceptions. Another teacher also takes a position in favor of using the calculator, but has not been using it recently. Finally, the third teacher puts great reservations about its use, and only does so at the end of grade 6, when preparing students for national tests. The results also show that there is a strong relationship between the conceptions and practices of these teachers and their view of mathematics teaching as well (in two cases) with the culture of school. The teacher education sessions, based on sharing and discussing, contributed to teachers question their practices, leading one of them to change these practices, helping another to further consolidate her conceptions and practices regarding the calculator and raising doubts in the teacher that put strong reservations to its use.