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This essay is a narrative about a mathematics teacher in dealing with the task of researching in mathematics education, encountering his own identity tensions, dialoguing with himself and also with a Teacher, subject of his later master's research. The narrative exposes a critique of the research’s role, especially that whose object is the teacher`s practice and knowledge, establishing a relation between the role of theory in mathematics education and the work of mathematics teachers in the classroom. Thus, treating criticism also as a matter of its own constitution as teacher and researcher, the narrative mixes fiction and reality to show a way of dealing and being, regarding this false dichotomy between theory and practice in mathematics education.

“Reality kills, fiction saves” – that is what the author affirms when proposing a book about Eric Marco’s life, a Spanish syndicalist who pretended to have fought in the Spanish Civil War and experienced the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. Articulating the concerns of Javier Cercas about the writing of the book and our interests to relate fiction, life stories and research on Mathematics Education, we aim in this text to evidence the conflictive space of fiction as well as the life stories on research and how some of the epistemological movements in the Mathematical Education field allowed a reconfiguration of this own space. From this discussion, we aim to reflect upon the effects of a functional aesthetics to the research in Mathematical Education.

In this text we approach the usual separation between representation and represented, between fiction and reality, as well as their relationship with "truth". These aspects are evidenced to discuss implications for the Mathematics classroom and for the Mathematics Education, specifically for the History of Mathematics Education. Our positions are strongly supported in Ludwig Wittgenstein's writes in his second phase, having as main work the book Philosophical Investigations. In this way, the notion of language games and family similarities are central to our discussion, which attempts to abandon essentialism and a Platonist view of knowledge. The separation between fiction and reality is left behind, as far as epistemology is concerned, this separation no longer makes sense, and then we propose to think of the potentialities and effects of our academic production.

This text is organized through a fictional scene, which has developed in six Acts. The scene was constructed from spectral voices, in sense of Jacques Derrida, which are produced from two doctoral researches, occurred in different temporalities. The proposal of scene construction is to weave familiarities between effects of meaning around problem and dilemma, based on a non-linear approach of time. In this way, we try to cover several uses of the words: problem and dilemma. With these scenarios, we propose to deconstruct the notion of problem in Mathematics Education and to reverberate other uses and senses. This movement proposes to think about the ways in which dilemmas are mobilized in social practices and their possible effects in the field of school practices. Moving from the question "what is a problem" to the questions: how is manifested the possibility impossible of event appearance in social practices? How do dilemmas happen? When do we solve a dilemma?”

This article is an commented, expanded and adapted translation, temporally and geographically, of a text in the style of metaphorical narrative of a work of fiction by Agatha Christie, written and presented by professor ClaudiAlsinaiCatalà, in conference form, at the III Ibero-American Symposium on Teaching Mathematics, promoted in 1991 by the OEI, in Buenos Aires, a conference whose transcription has served as reference for many works around the world related to the practice or research in Geometric Education. This commented translation aims to raise institutional, formative and professional issues related to the different geometries that are taught from elementary school to post-graduation, in order to bring to the lusophone people reader some references and contextualizations for analysis of the original text, without opening hand of the prerogative of the political positioning of both, the author and the translator, regarding such issues related to the teaching of Geometry.

Three friends meet, not exactly in the same space and time. They talk about their lives, professions, demands and daily tasks. A 13th scenario is the mathematical preparation of mathematics teachers. Another 26th is a way of problematizing research policies and aesthetics in the area of Mathematics Education - provoking some sparks, inventing (being invented) other possibilities. Any other scenario can be produced, depending on the pact that each reader, I say author of this text, may be interested. Anguish, contradictions, suspensions, deconstructions, circumstances of initial teacher training and modes of production/invention research in Mathematics Education are produced. This is the first act. Small phrases (can) provoke some sensations, intensities, demands for (possible) other ways of producing meanings. They do not explain, nor even systematize, anything. They are only, and because they are, they are possible possibilities. They do not indicate, they affect. They do not explain, they leave in suspension. This is the second act. Perhaps, fiction may offer other possibilities for problematizing (and problematizing ourselves) our cultural practices and our theorization movements. One way of seeing, producing, inventing, being affected, and feeling what about the other can have an effect on me – always in attempts to put our identities at risk. Fiction as process, as movement. Just other.

This paper aims to address the multiplicity of mathematical knowledge in the context of rural education. Two questions guide the discussion: (a) There is much talk of “knowledge accumulated by mankind”; what knowledge is this and what “mankind” is this?; (b) What knowledge has space in school curricula (especially in mathematics classes)? With regard to question (b), an analysis is made of a collection of textbooks intended for rural schools; and, to answer question (a), in a movement of “going to local knowledge”, the tasks proposed by teachers of initial years of elementary school in a rural school are analyzed, and the statements of these teachers about these tasks. With this discussion, one argues in favor of non-belief in the uniformity of mathematical knowledge, but in the multiplicity of knowledge.

We present a survey about the scientific production on STS/STSE existing in the main periodicals and events of the area of Education in Sciences and Environmental Education from 2010 to 2016. We analyzed 27 papers that belong to the STSE perspective, aiming at verifying the reasons, assumptions and interests that mark the choice of researchers for this denomination, as well as the meanings attributed to the Environment and Environmental Education. The results shows that we can consider that there is still no consensus in the area regarding the understanding of the assumptions and characteristics present in the STSE perspective in comparison to the STS perspective, and there is also a variety of meanings attributed to the Environment. Besides, there are real possibilities of a productive interface with the Environmental Education, in which are highlighted tendencies conservationist or critical in the treatment of the environmental themes present in the researches.

In the present study we propose a new look at rescuing the condition of radioactivity as a natural and present phenomenon in our lives going beyond the accidents and calculations present in the teaching of radioactivity. This notion was object of a formative proposal in a course of Degree in Chemistry in a public institution of Pernambuco in action research form as strategic. We aimed to analyze the conceptions of licensees about Radioactivity Environmental through the use of conceptual maps produced before, at end and three months after the end of the training proposal. In general, we noticed that there was a gradual evolution of radioactivity concepts, especially regarding corrections of the mistakes identified, as well as the consolidation of some information referring to the environmental perspective. Through these results, we believe in contributing to new teaching practices based on radioactivity concepts of future chemistry teachers.

It is almost consensus in the context of physics education research the relevance of teaching strategies focused on critical reflections about the topics on discussion. Based on previous studies, we assumed that “didactic-scientific modeling” strategy is a promising theoretical-methodological framework for this purpose. Its theoretical background was mainly based on Vergnaud’s conceptual fields theory and the Bunge’s epistemological conception concerning scientific modeling process. This framework has been used on a compulsory graduate course of a professional master in physics teaching. This empirical study, with qualitative focus and explanatory purpose, allowed us to collect evidences of conceptions, difficulties and advances in the conceptualization of the real by the students enrolled in this course and also to identify possible operative invariants used by them.

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We report in this work a didactic experience that sought to disseminate concepts and discuss astronomical phenomena with young students of Elementary School (ES) with indicators of high abilities, within the scope of a university extension project developed in partnership with the Resource Room for High Abilities / Giftedness, which brings together students of public basic education at the ES Jean Piaget in Porto Alegre, RS. A preliminary qualitative analysis of some teaching episodes is offered and provides evidence that activities involving ludicity and stimulation to interaction and dialogue tended to favor engagement, socialisation and enculturation of scientific concepts. Some reflections on the importance of this type of project and activities focused on diversity in the scientific education are also offered throughout the text.

In this article, reflections on meanings that students of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology secondary teacher course preparation at Federal University in Minas Gerais make about environmental themes and its articulation with educational process are presented. That reflections were sustained by an empirical study. This study was supported by questionnaire and semi-structured interviews realized with 21 students who were developed more than 60% of their course and proceedings of Analyses of Content as well. Environmental issues were recognised by students. However, a pragmatic perspective was more common between students. Many of them believed that environmental issues could be exclusively solved by science. In this context the students didn’t develop connections between environmental issues and social, economics and politics issues.

The inquiry presented in this article analyses twenty-one thesis and dissertations defended in graduate programs recommended by CAPES in the Teaching Area, which are themed surrounding the intersection between History and Philosophy of Science in Chemistry Education (taken as the research corpus). Despite official recommendations and several studies defending this intersection as positive in the learning process, the presence of such in the classroom is still scarce. Therefore, the focus here is to identify what has been done/studied in the field, from 2011 and 2015, after the CAPES area has changed its scope. A bibliographical research was made, followed by content analysis based on previous categories. The analysis has shown the main topics explored are criticality plea, in the analytical categories and analysis of textbooks in the thematic categories. It also shows intersection between History and Philosophy of Science in Chemistry Education is an expanding theme in need of a closer relationship between academia and classrooms.

This paper aims to identify preponderant elements and dimensions in the discursive movements of teachers and students of the first year of high school, in making theoretical judgments, acting responsibly or "trying to escape" their responsibilities in the face of current controversies about global warming. Elements of moral philosophy and Mikhail Bakhtin's Theory of Enunciation were used by analyzing strings of statements in two cut-out episodes of a didactic sequence of ten lessons on the subject. Comprehensions in various rhythms and accentuations have been flagged, theoretical certainties and doubts as not linearly correlated to responsible action, and "being only one in the crowd" as the primary alibi of escape from such responsibility. Finally, we discuss the implication of rethinking criticality and decision-making as learning goals, as well as recommending strategies to ignore responsible acts of students while addressing socio-scientific issues.

This study aims to analyze how the interlocution between contextualization and experimental activities has been established in the Chemistry education in elementary school, in order to contribute to the Chemistry teaching practices. As object of this study, articles were taken from the Revista Química Nova na Escola (QNESc) as of 2006, year of publication of the National Curricular Guidelines for Secondary School. The Discursive Textual Analysis (ATD) was used to analyze the data, which pointed out different understandings of the Chemistry teaching community about the articulation between contextualization and experimentation.

The main goal of this paper is to investigate the contextual elements of Communities of Practice (CoPs) of elementary and secondary school Mathematics Teachers that offer learning opportunities to teachers who participate in them. The analysis, supported by the Grounded Theory, cover papers, theses and dissertations whose findings are associated to events highlighted within CoP. The overall findings offer a framework of teachers' learning career, from the following conditions: (i) engagement of roaming; (ii) repertoires sharing; (iii) joint commitment; (iv) dynamics of group/community; (v) shared and supported reflections; (vi) relationship of confidence and respect; (vii) vulnerability spaces and mediated agency; and (viii) dynamic nature of the expert and role of the trainer(s). In these terms, the findings suggest recognizing the Communities of Practice as a privileged environment for professional development of elementary and secondary school Mathematics teachers.

In this paper we present results of a research developed with students of Chemistry Degree in a discipline of Differential and Integral Calculus 1 whose objective was to analyze as written productions, through the signs produced in activities that deal with functions defined by more than one sentence. Thus, theoretical references dealing with semiotics as a science of signs and reflections on the Written Production Analysis in Mathematics have subsidized our qualitative and interpretative analysis. As analyzed activities were solved in the classroom and composed, along with other issues, one of the three tests developed during the semester (semester regime) and proposals at the end of the study of a block of contents. The test whose activities were analyzed was the first to be, made by the students and evaluated, also, the study of limits and continuity. The notes we generate have as a premise the written signs produced in student resolutions, in which we could know, as well as identify some weaknesses as to knowledge about the functions defined by more than one sentence.

The objective of this study was to investigate the concepts Elementary School students have of food habits and balanced nutrition. This qualitative exploratory study included 15 8th grade students of an elementary school in northwestern Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Data were collected using a questionnaire and assessed based on the content analysis approach. The results showed that students have a certain degree of knowledge about the importance of a varied diet to health. In addition, they expressed several concepts of balanced nutrition, some of which were spontaneous in character, while others revealed a narrower relationship with associated scientific knowledge. Despite that, some concepts lacked consistency concerning the topic, indicating the need for further in-depth discussions about it.