Ações do professor na condução de discussões matemáticas

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to understand how the practice of conducting whole class discussions in mathematics develops, identifying problems that emerge in its realization. Teaching practice is seen as an activity based on a motive and carried out through a set of actions, with special attention given to the way in which students’ mathematical reasoning is promoted. The study is carried out in the classroom of an experienced grade 9 teacher. Data collection is based on classroom observations (video and audio recorded), supplemented by conversations with the teacher, and data analysis is carried out based on a model for the different teachers’ actions. The results show that discussions are strongly marked by challenging actions which arise from suggesting and guiding actions as well as from previous challenging actions. They also show the importance of the guiding actions, which sometimes follow each other or else alternate with challenging actions. A discussion segment usually ends with a suggesting action that summarizes the main aspects to be recorded by the students. In the implementation of these action plans there are numerous problems that the teacher needs to face, some of which appear in a recurrent way.