Articulating some geometric knowledge with the manipulative conditions of Petrus Ramus' baculum in a university experience

Abstract

From the attempt to approach the history of mathematics teaching through old instruments for the mobilization of mathematical knowledge present in them, we had the application of an activity in a university extension course, in which we aimed to show the geometric knowledge that was listed in the study of the manipulative conditioning scans of the baculum of Petrus Ramus (1515-1752),a mathematical instrument contained in the historical document Via regia ad geometriam,  under  the English version of 1636. To this end, using the qualitative approach with descriptive nature, we made the data treatment in the chosen activity, trying to gather the concepts that were listed, in order to make relationship with the management of the mathematical instrument. Therefore, the participants highlight the concepts of parallelism, perpendicularity, relevant to the inclination of the instrument, depending on the conditions of us of the baculum of Petrus Ramus, which allows the user to position the object well to find the measure sought. Thus, with the mathematical concepts that were identified in the study of the handling of the instrument, we had the notion about the didactic potentialities of Petrus Ramus' baculum for the teaching of Mathematics, relating both to the school routine and didactic approaches that can be implemented in basic education.