Problem Solving and Semiotic Representations in the Initial Training of Math Teachers

Abstract

This article presents partial results of a research whose objective was to investigate the potential of the transformations of the semiotic representation registers in a proposal of teaching about the concept of function, built based on the problem solving for teachers of Mathematics in initial training. For that, the theoretical assumptions of Duval's Semiotic Representation Registers and the  guidelines of Teaching-Learning-Assessment-Mathematics Methodology through Problem Solving  were adopted. The study was developed in a public university, located in the interior of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and had the participation of sixteen students from the first semester of the degree course in Mathematics. The analysis of the data, which were collected through the students' productions and the notes in the teacher's field diary, showed that, despite the difficulties in mobilizing the concept of function and in coordinating the different semiotic representations of this mathematical object, students lived experience as active participants in problem solving processes and recognized the importance of semiotic representations for understanding the concept.