Educação matemática: conhecimentos docentes acerca de potenciação

Abstract

This case study has investigated the knowledge of the mathematics teachers of the 6o Fundamental Teaching Year about exponentiation. Therefore, during the analyse, three categories were established: contents exponentiation knowledge, contents didactic knowledge and curricular knowledge, based on the conception of Shulman (1986) Shulman, Wilson and Grossman (2005) about teachers knowledge. Six math teachers took part on this work as researchers, four of them, came from State Public School that belongs to 7a Coordenadoria of Alagoas Teaching and two came from Municipal Public School of União dos Palmares. These teachers contributed with answers to a questionnaire for solving their professional profile, they interpreted the exponentiation problem and took part in an interview. Based on the collected data and on the analysis of collected data, it was possible to conclude that the teachers knowledge of these 6o year mathematics teachers, about exponentiation is largely focused to multiplicative field. Such data indicate the necessity in which the mathematics undergraduation has to be based on the necessity of teaching approach linked with the contents of mathematics that attend to math teaching on the basic education. The result of this work makes possible new researches on the multiplicative field. This happens both in the beginning and final years of fundamental teaching. Still, the result of this work is a contributor factor to the exponentiation study as well as the indication that teaching undergraduation must be expanded and improved. And more, it must be emphasized the importance of a curricular undergraduation that extend to theoretical repertory of initial teacher education in accordance with school practice.