A construção do conceito de função através da resolução de problemas no ensino híbrido

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to analyze how students solve problems using digital technology; investigate the construction of the concept of functions through Problem Solving in blended learning and present an Educational Product that guides the teacher in the introduction of function content through Problem Solving. For that, five generating problems were proposed following the script of the Learning-Assessment Teaching Methodology of Mathematics through Problem Solving. The research participants were 22 students from the 9th grade in Elementary School, from a private school in the city of Ortigueira/PR. The research followed a qualitative approach, and the data were produced considering audio-recorded moments from the school’s teaching platform, written and audio messages sent by the participants in the WhatsApp messaging application, the teacher-researcher’s field diary and the written solutions posted in the Padlet tool. The results obtained show that the construction of the concept of functions can occur, from students, through the understanding of the idea of a relationship between two quantities (or sets); through the mobilization of covariational thinking; in the passage from current language to algebraic language; in the representation of a function in algebraic forms, graphs, tables, schemes, and common language; and in the use and resignification of previous mathematical knowledge. The research also provided students with the opportunity to be builders of their own knowledge, regarding the concept of functions. The research generated as an educational product a material, intended for teachers, entitled “Padlet: A possibility for the construction of the concept of functions through Problem Solving”. In it, the generating problems, references on Problem Solving used in the research, as well as general guidelines for teachers regarding the use of Padlet are available.