The Common Labor in a situation proposed by Early Algebra: mobilization of semiotic means and human collaboration

Abstract

This article presents an outline of an investigation about the Common Labor based on a situation proposed in the context of Early Algebra called “How many calls?”. The research is based on the theoretical and methodological assumptions of the Objectification Theory (TO), proposed by Luis Radford. TO is inserted as a theory of teaching and learning mathematics as a semiotic approach with a socio-cultural focus. The objectives of the research are the semiotic means mobilized in the situation and indications of characteristics of Algebraic Thought. The search for evidence related to the Common Labor is analyzed based on the dialectical relationships between students and researcher and the different semiotic means (gestures, artifacts, representations) produced by 6th grade students from a public school, located in the north of the state of Paraná. Considering the dialectical movements and the mobilization and production of semiotic means, we infer that there are indicative of the processes of objectification and subjectification simultaneously as constituents of the Common Labor, in addition to a characteristic of Algebraic Thought.