In the school mathematics curriculum functions play a pivotal role in accessing and mastering algebra and the whole of mathematics. The study investigated the extent to which pupils with little experience in algebra would develop the function concept and was motivated by the need to bring the current Zimbabwean mathematics curriculum in line with reform ideas that introduce functions early in the secondary school curriculum. An instrument developed from literature review was used to assess the extent to which the Form1/Grade 8 pupils developed the concept. The teaching experiment covered a total of 26 lessons, a period of about eight weeks spread over two terms starting in the second term of the Zimbabwean school calendar. The problem-centred teaching approach based on the socio-constructivist view of learning formed the background to facilitate pupils' individual and social construction of knowledge. Data was collected from the pupils' written work, audio taped discussions and interviews with selected pupils. The extent to which each pupil of the seven pupils developed the aspects of function, change, relationship, rule, representation and strategies, was assessed. The stages of development and thinking levels of functional reasoning at the beginning of the experiment, then during the learning phase and finally at the end of the experiment, were compared. The results showed that functions can be introduced at Form 1 and pupils progressed in the understanding of most of the aspects of a function. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:58:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandre de Paula Silva.pdf: 437142 bytes, checksum: 8c90e74250518378ff9154e82ebe97de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-24 / Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo / This research has the objective of investigating the function concept in the mathematics activities of the elementary teaching material in the public school system used in São Paulo during the beginning of the 2008 school year. A documentary research with qualitative caracter was developed by investigating if the function concept was implicit or explicit, if the activities favour its grasp and which kinds of registers of semiotic representation are in such activities, as well as if there is any treatment or conversion in the possible solution strategies. The research is based on the concepts about function presented by Bento de Jesus Caraça and on Raymond Duval's registers of semiotic representation. The results obtained reveal that the concept of function is implicitly present in the activities and favour its future study, therefore they deal with introductory concepts from that mathematical object like: direct and indirect proportionality, reason, the relation between the widths and the standards observation and generalization. They also reveal register transformations like treatment and conversions either congruent or non-congruents, however with no activities that could allow the conversion toward both sides. An interesting observed point was the fact that the activities don't show direct and formal definitions, and they give us the possibility of working with the concepts in a contextualized way and with an accessible language, consisting of a material we notice that matches with the current methodological orientations that are part of the official education documents / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo investigar o conceito de função nas atividades de matemática do material do Ensino Fundamental da rede pública estadual de São Paulo, utilizado no início do ano letivo de 2008. Foi realizada uma pesquisa documental de caráter qualitativo investigando se o conceito de função apresentava-se de forma implícita ou explícita, se as atividades proporcionam favorecimento em sua apreensão futura e quais os tipos de registros de representação semiótica que figuram em tais atividades, bem como se há tratamento ou conversão nas possíveis estratégias de solução. A pesquisa fundamentase nos conceitos sobre função apresentados por Bento de Jesus Caraça e na teoria dos registros de representação semiótica de Raymond Duval. Os resultados obtidos revelam que o conceito de função está presente nas atividades de forma implícita e favorecem o seu estudo futuro, pois tratam de conceitos introdutórios daquele objeto matemático como: proporcionalidade direta e indireta, razão, relação entre grandezas e observação e generalização de padrões. Revela-se haver transformações de registros do tipo tratamento e conversões tanto congruentes como não-congruentes; não havendo nenhuma atividade que possibilitasse a conversão nos dois sentidos. Um aspecto interessante observado foi o fato de que as atividades não apresentam definições diretas e formais e possibilitam o trabalho dos conceitos de forma contextualizada, numa linguagem acessível, constituindo um material que percebemos estar em consonância com as orientações metodológicas atuais constantes dos documentos oficiais da educação