Helena Rocha

This study seeks reflection on the approaches of 11th grade students to Linear Programming problems, discussing the approaches taken at different moments of the teaching process. It aims to analyze:
How is the students’ mathematical competence characterized in relation to problemsolving;
What differences can be identified in the resolutions at different moments of the teaching and learning process.
We adopt a qualitative and interpretative methodology, analyzing the approaches of two pairs of students with different mathematical backgrounds. The analysis is guided by P´olya’s stages of solving a problem and aspects of the understanding of mathematical competence. The results show different approaches to the problems depending on the teaching moment and different competences. The mathematical background impacts the students’ success when they implement routine procedures, however it does not seem to determine the students’ competence to reason about a problem.

The teacher’s knowledge has long been viewed as a strong influence on the students’ learning. Several authors have sought to develop procedures to assess this knowledge, but this has proved to be a complex task. In this paper I present an outline of a conceptualization to analyze the teacher's knowledge, based on the model of the Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology (KTMT) and a set of tasks. These tasks are chosen by the teacher among the ones he prepared for his students taking into account the potential of the tasks to take advantage of the technology’s potential. The analyze of the teacher’s KTMT is based on the characteristics of the tasks chosen by the teacher; the balance established between the representations provided by the technology that the tasks advocate; the way how the tasks pay attention to the new issue of seeking for a suitable viewing window; and also the way how the tasks take into account the expectable difficulties of the students in the process of looking for the window.

The assessment and the role it should be assumed by the summative and formative component are often a reason for discussion. It is therefore important to understand how the teacher assessment practices are characterized and what influences them. That is, identify aspects taken into account when planning assessment; the (dis)continuities between assessment and learning; the divergences/consonances between assessment planned and implemented. The conclusions reached point to a strong influence of peers, to the assessment criteria of the school and to the students’ characteristics, in a scenario where the test is the dominant element in assessment.

This study focusses on the criteria used by pre-service teachers of Mathematics to choose interdisciplinary tasks. The pre-service teachers’ knowledge is assumed as the basis of the actions taken and used as the origin of the choices and approaches observed. The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative methodology and the data were collected using class observation and interviews. The analysis is guided by the Application and Pedagogical Content Knowledge, a model inspired on TPACK (from Mishra and Koehler) and MKT (from Ball and colleagues). The conclusions point to an appreciation of the mathematical part of the tasks and to a devaluation of the remaining components. This suggests difficulty in articulating and integrating different domains of knowledge and points to a fragmented view of the potential of using mathematical applications.

The present study aims to understand the potentialities and implications,
to the teacher and her practice, of the use of formative assessment with the support
of educational technology.
Regarding the research methodology, this study is part of the research on own
practice. The participants were the teacher, who was simultaneously a researcher,
and the students of a 9th grade class.
In the course of this experience it was found that the use of formative assessment
allows, on the one hand, the student to realize what he manages to understand, and
what he has to do to overcome what are less consolidated parts of the content in
study; and, on the other, the teacher to detect in a timely manner the difficulties of
the student and to change strategies to allow the student to overcome his difficulties.
The lack of time, the difficulties in managing the curriculum and the existence of
national exams are three of the main obstacles mentioned by the teachers for the
non-realization of formative assessment. In this experience it was found that the use
of new technologies turns possible to overcome these limitations.
This type of assessment had a very positive impact on teacher’s practice and in the
learning of the students.
Keywords: assessment; formative assessment; new technologies.

In this chapter, we examine the role of policies and other factors affecting digital technology (DT) integration in mathematics education. In particular, we develop a cross-national analysis of the impact on DT implementation in four countries: two countries in Europe (Italy and Portugal) and two countries in Latin America (Colombia and Mexico). We analyze the role that policies, political changes, reforms, curricula, educational organization and systems, sociocultural aspects, and teachers’ training, knowledge, and beliefs play toward possible DT implementations. We observe that there is a discourse in policies to promote digital technologies’ use, but in practice the availability and integration of such resources in mathematics classrooms is still scarce. We also note that the efforts done during the pandemic did not change this, promoting general ICT use, rather than DT resources that might enhance mathematics teaching and learning.

The STE(A)M approach has been recognized by several authors for its potential in assisting teaching and learning, and several curriculum standards already value its application in the classroom. This approach is based on the articulation between different areas, the clarification, and the deepening of the concepts being studied. Although there are different approaches, according to the fields involved, STEM and STEAM are two among the most often mentioned in the literature. STEM is based on learning that integrates the following areas of knowledge: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The conceptualization of the STE(A)M approach is not consensual and uniform. There are different models focusing on problem-solving based learning, project-based-learning, design-based learning, and engineering models. Still, different authors present different conceptualizations of this approach. In this paper, we relied on the existing literature to discuss the different understandings of the STE(A)M approach. We will also pay attention to mathematics and how different authors see the disciplines’ role within a STE(A)M approach and discuss the evolution of the mentioned authors’ positions throughout time. Thus, methodologically, we undertook the following steps: (i) literature search based on the selected keywords; (ii) selection of the texts, considering the authors and time gap, in order to analyze the evolution of the research and (iii) collection and organization of the relevant topics for the study. This study aims to present the meanings, conceptualizations, and possible influences present in different models and for understand the evolution of the STEM and STEAM approaches over time. The main findings suggest a focus on the interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary approach as opposed to the primeval years of investigations in STEM and STEAM when many authors advocated a multidisciplinary approach. This change in thinking is due to the need to train students in an integral and holistic manner, developing citizens with transversal knowledge and skills prepared for the current societal challenges.

The integration of the graphing calculator in mathematical activity encourages students to express many of their processes and ways of thinking. Since some of the activities at the high school level are carried out with the graphing calculator, we intend to investigate the contribution of this resource to promote the learning of nonlinear continuous models in the 11th grade. By adopting a qualitative methodology, we collected and analysed the students‟ writing productions. At first, students used to present the information given by the calculator with no justification. As they acquire skills in the use of this resource, they usually set up the viewing window in order to visualize the graphical representations of functions that model the problem situation they are working on and also relate the different existing menus in the study of those functions characteristics. Such procedures make students to present the data collected in the calculator with a justification of their arguments and a validation of their conjectures.

Mathematics has a strong presence in the school curriculum, often justified by its usefulness in social life, in the world of work and by its connections with other sciences. This interdisciplinary connection, in particular when it requires constructing and refining mathematical models and discussing their applications to solve problems of other sciences, can assist students to understand why mathematics is so important in school. In the development of interdisciplinary activities, the characteristics of the tasks emerge as an important aspect. The emphasis is on the use of technological materials and the way they can support the development of concepts, provide different representations and support deeper understandings, and offer a multifaceted support to collect data and simulate experiences. Based on these assumptions, the aim of this chapter is to present, analyse and discuss tasks that promote interdisciplinary technological approaches from a mathematical point of view. In this chapter we assume interdisciplinarity as a complex construct, and in order to clarify its meaning we will discuss several types of conceptions, from multidisciplinary, to interdisciplinary, and to transdisciplinary. We will then address related concepts, such as modelling and STEM, highlighting similarities and differences between them, to reach an understanding of interdisciplinarity. In the process of the interdiciplinary approach, digital technologies arise as a central element. Based on a set of tasks on mathematics and on different sciences, we discuss what can change on an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching and learning of mathematical content and on the articulation between subjects.

Recognising the relevance of learning Geometry, and in particular 3D Geometry, this study aims to discuss the contributions that digital technology and paper and pencil approaches can bring to students’ learning. We seek, therefore, to identify the differences between the two approaches, and specifically: What factors are relevant in one and the other approach? What does one approach facilitate over the other? A quantitative and a qualitative and interpretive methodology was adopted, and based on a didactic intervention, the students' resolutions of the proposed tasks were analysed. The results obtained show that the experience and prior knowledge of the students with each of the solids involved seems to be decisive in the approach with paper and pencil. However, technology emerges as an enhancing resource when prior knowledge is more fragile. The study also shows differences between the representations supported by the two resources, suggesting the mobilisation of different knowledge by the students in relation to each of the resources.

A exploração de diferentes representações promove a compreensão dos tópicos de funções. Partindo deste pressuposto, com este estudo pretende-se analisar o contributo da representação gráfica na aprendizagem da noção de função inversa e da paridade de uma função por alunos do 10.º ano de escolaridade e identificar dificuldades na exploração dessa representação. Na procura de responder a este objetivo, adotou-se uma abordagem qualitativa e interpretativa para compreender as ações dos alunos na resolução das tarefas
propostas. A análise das resoluções mostra que a representação gráfica serviu de suporte para a instituição das definições dos tópicos em estudo. E isto apesar de alguns alunos revelarem dificuldades ao interpretar e ao construir gráficos; ao identificar imagens e imagens inversas em gráficos de funções; ao representar determinadas características gráficas associadas a alguns conceitos, como é o caso da relação entre a paridade de uma função e a simetria na sua representação gráfica (confundindo eixo de simetria e de reflexão). Globalmente, este estudo mostra como a abordagem de conceitos a partir da representação gráfica pode contribuir para a sua compreensão.

The current curricular guidelines for mathematics education in Portugal emphasize the relevance of working with different representations of functions to promote understanding. Given this relevance, we seek understanding about the notion of function held by 37 basic education pre-service teachers in their first year of a master’s course. Data were collected through a task focusing on identifying functions in situations based on different representations. The content analysis technique was then adopted in the search for an understanding of the justifications given by the participants. The results achieved suggest it is easier for the pre-service teachers to identify examples that are not functions than examples that are functions. There is also a tendency for greater accuracy in the identification of examples expressed by tables than by algebraic expressions. The justifications presented show a notion of function as a relation between values of two non-empty sets, but without guaranteeing that this relation is single-valued.

This study intends to understand the perceptions of mathematics teachers from lower and upper secondary regarding the teaching of Functions and the use of technological materials. For that, a mixed methodology was adopted, and the perceptions of 129 teachers were collected through a questionnaire and four teachers through an interview. The main conclusions point to similarities in teachers' perceptions, but also to some differences related to the teaching level of lower or upper secondary. In the teaching of Functions, textbooks are widely used, but differently depending on the level being taught. The same happens with the representations and with the use that is made of the technologies. Involvement of students in work is another aspect considered important, but again there are differences. The assessment also has similarities, but differs in the valuation ascribed to group work.