A research report submitted to the Wits School of Education and the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science by combination of coursework and research. Johannesburg, 5 June 2017 / This research report focussed on the teaching of the function concept directed at the errors the learners make as well as the misconceptions which could be associated with those errors. The study was conducted at a secondary school in Johannesburg, South Africa. This was a qualitative error analysis study which also had a form of interventional or remedial teaching. The research was driven by the following research questions: (1) What errors and misconceptions do grade 11 learners show on functions?, (2) What learning affordances and constraints can be created if teaching is directed at learners’ errors and misconceptions? and, (3) To what extent can the learners’ achievement on the topic functions be boosted if teaching is directed at learners’ errors and misconceptions? The study used a purposive sample of six grade 11 mathematics learners from a group of 34 learners. To answer these questions, I structured the study to encompass numerous phases of data collection using different instruments. Firstly, I constructed a test instrument and used it on this group of grade 11 learners. These learners had been taught functions earlier in the year, so the test was diagnostic to measure the cognitive levels of the learner on the concept and also to establish the errors made and misconceptions they carried onto the section from other sections or picked up from the function concept. The study was mainly based on the constructivism theory of learning and teaching, but also had other theories to link to it such at the socio-cultural theory, the APOS (actions, process, object and schema) theory, the concept image and concept definition as well as the variation theory. The errors I picked up from the pre-test I classified and analysed using the conceptual framework grounded on the abovementioned theories. It was this analysis which enabled me to structure the desired intervention program together with the teacher after which I conducted a post-test with the subjects. Other forms of data collection such as the interview and observation were employed during the study. I used the interview to get clarity from the learners’ pre-test questions responses, whilst the observation I used during the intervention lessons the teacher had with the learners. Indeed the findings were that, while there was a substantial improvement on learner performance on the post-test, it appeared clearly that cognitive levels of the learners on the function concept had been enhanced. This improvement of performance was a result of the teaching that was directed at the errors, which also interprets to having created a favourable environment which could be interpreted as learning affordances to boost the learners’ understanding of the function concept. / LG2017

Mon travail de thèse propose une réflexion au sujet d’un paradoxe ancien mais qui demeure pertinent à travailler dans le contexte renouvelé des "controverses socioscientifiques" publiques. La position épistémique dominante au sein de la communauté scientifique peut être qualifiée de réeliste, à savoir qu’il existe en soi un monde extérieur à la pensée, qu’une connaissance objective et neutre de ce monde est possible, ce qui permettrait un progrès social. Par ailleurs les exigences de la démocratie, comme organisation de gouvernance en vue de construire un monde commun par l'accord du peuple, présupposent que chaque voix individuelle, chaque point de vue singulier est à considérer selon une éthique égalitaire. C'est ainsi que le statut de l'expert en démocratie est paradoxal. En effet, si l’expert est un scientifique appelé à répondre à une question définie par le politique pour laquelle, en contexte de controverse, les données scientifiques disponibles ne permettent pas de conclure, l'expert doit néanmoins proposer une réponse à la question qui lui est posée. C’est ainsi que, même en absence de réponses, l’expert est choisi sur la base de sa présupposée compétence, par le biais d’un accès privilégié au réel. Ce choix suggère que la parole de l'expert est toujours plus intéressante, plus pertinente qu’une parole non-experte, ce qui va à l’encontre du postulat démocratique.Face à la critique de l’expertise, il y a généralement deux craintes, deux spectres (dans le sens « d’apparition effrayante ») de réponses envisageables. D’un côté, il y a le renforcement de la légitimité traditionnelle de l’expertise qui est sous tendue par une épistémologie réeliste, et donc la peur de la confiscation du pouvoir qui en découle. De l’autre côté, altérer les frontières entre science et non-sciences, relativiser le pouvoir de la « grande science » pourrait conduire à une forme de nihilisme, à savoir la perte de la hiérarchie des valeurs, notamment la distinction entre connaissance et croyance, et la perte de la potentialité de fonder une connaissance pertinente nécessaire à une transformation sociale du monde.Mais je me demande également pourquoi l’appel à l’expertise, dont l’une des raisons réside dans la recherche d’une fin (clôture ou finalité, telle est la question) à la discussion, débat au cours duquel on échange des arguments. Selon les partisans d’un réelisme, la discussion scientifique n’est pas de même nature que le débat démocratique, mais dans le cas de mon constructivisme cette différence n’existe pas. Si étymologie de la controverse suppose un face-à-face et une clôture, la discussion pouvant se conclure par une reconstruction ou réarrangement semble plus approprié à une optique constructiviste. L’expertise résistera t-elle à notre enquête dramaturgique ? / My research topics focus on the social responsability of researchers, their involvement and political engagement, all the way from the construction of knowledge to its formulation (research aesthetic) and dissemination.As I study others' engagement and their legitimation strategies, I also aim at formulating mine: a constructivism that holds itself accountable for its creations.This thesis discusses the role of experts in democracy; it is written in French. I highly doubt that I am able to summarize it in English, just as I doubt that exclusively English-speaking readers would be able to understand the manuscript in French.

This study investigates learners‟ understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI) in relation to their classroom experiences. Using the constructs of nature of scientific inquiry; inquiry-based teaching and learning; and principles of scientific inquiry as theoretical lenses, the study empirically explored learners‟ (n = 120) understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry which were captured through a questionnaire called Learners‟ understanding of science and scientific inquiry (LUSSI) and interviews and their perceptions of classroom inquiry (their experiences of inquiry were elicited through a questionnaire called Principles of scientific inquiry- student (PSI-S) and interviews). The participants were one hundred and twenty learners, 60 from each of two schools in an Education District in Lesotho. Eight learners, four from each school participated in the interviews. At the centre, the investigation sought to understand whether there was any relationship between learners‟ perceptions of their experiences of scientific inquiry and their understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry. As a result, this study was guided by the following questions: what are learners‟ understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry? What are learners‟ perceptions of their experiences of scientific inquiry? Are learners‟ understandings of NOSI in any way related to their experiences of scientific inquiry? Typological approach was used to analyse the qualitative data and descriptive statistics for analysing the quantitative data. The results of this study suggest that learners hold less informed understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry and that learners are experiencing closed-inquiry in their science classroom. The results also show that other learners‟ experiences of scientific inquiry are not related to their understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry. It was recommended that teachers should engage learners in inquiry activities rather than always carrying out teacher-demonstrations. It is also recommended that further studies should be done in Lesotho to examine the relationship between learners‟ understandings of NOSI and their perceptions of their classroom experiences.

Along with various contextual factors, the method of literacy instruction is recognised as one of the main reasons for low levels of literacy learning both locally and internationally. Harcombe’s CATLI process is offered as an alternative literacy methodology, firstly since its constructivist, ecosystemic underpinnings endeavour to address as many contextual issues as is possible, and secondly, because the CATLI process attempts to address some of the gaps in other literacy instructional programmes. The current study aimed to evaluate the CATLI process as a viable alternative to traditional methods of literacy instruction. In addition, the study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using the constructivist approach to train university students in the CATLI process. The sample comprised trainee learning support specialists and one parent per learner receiving the CATLI intervention at the community centre at a Johannesburg university in 2007. Quantitative and qualitative data obtained by means of questionnaires and extant records provided evidence that all learners showed improvement in literacy skills as well as general development, ascribing the effectiveness of the process to being underpinned soundly by social constructivism and associated theories. For the same reason, trainees considered their training sufficient.

This study investigated Lesotho junior secondary science teachers’ perceptions and use of laboratory work in teaching. Teaching is described as engagement in a relationship between a person called a teacher and another person called a student with the purpose of facilitating the student’s acquisition of content which the student previously lacked (Fenstermacher, 1986). Using the constructs of scientific inquiry and inquiry-based instruction and constructivism as theoretical lenses the study empirically explored the Junior School Science teachers’ perceptions of the aims of laboratory work and how the teachers used laboratory work in their teaching. At the centre, the investigation sought to understand whether there was any relationship between teachers’ perceptions of the aims of laboratory work and their use of laboratory work. The sample of the study consisted of fifty science teachers (n=50) conveniently selected from 12 schools in the Butha-Buthe district of Lesotho. Data were collected through closed and open ended questionnaires (n=50), semi-structured interviews (n=5), and laboratory lesson observations (n=2). Data were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and qualitatively using a combination of typological and interpretational analysis. The results show that as a group the sampled teachers held the view that the most important aim of laboratory work was to promote conceptual understanding. In their teaching, most of the sampled teachers use laboratory work to verify theory through largely verificationist, expository and non-inquiry laboratory instructional practices and strategies. The following barriers were reported by the teachers as limiting their use of inquiry oriented and student centered teaching strategies: limitations of resources; time constraints; large classes; pressure to complete the prescribed curriculum; safety issues; and preparations for external examinations. The results also suggest that the teachers’ seeing laboratory work as important for developing conceptual understanding is associated with their use of verificationistic teaching approaches. It is recommended that; Lesotho science curriculum be reviewed, and that teachers should participate in curriculum development to enhance successful implementation of inquiry instruction, professional development programmes be established, and the enactment of inquiry instruction be systematically monitored and evaluated. It is recommended that curriculum developers facilitate teachers’ transformation from expository to inquiry instruction.

This mixed-methods study investigated the relationship between Advanced Placement (AP) social studies teachers' utilization of academic course blogs and student achievement. Simultaneously, the study examined the participating teachers' perceptions on the use of course blogs and other social media as supplemental learning resources. The study further explored a possible moderating effect of the social studies subject on student achievement and a possible moderating effect of students' previous academic blog usage on student achievement within the study. Quantitative data were collected from students' pre-tests and unit tests scores and analyzed for statistical significance. Qualitative data were collected through teacher-generated notes during the blogs, individual interviews, and a follow-up focus group interview. The results of this study indicated that there was no overall significant difference in student achievement between the blogging and non-blogging groups. On the contrary , a significant interaction between the social studies subject area and the use of academic course blogs was found when examining student achievement. However, this practical interaction was revealed to be a weak one. Further findings indicated that there was no significant interaction between students' previous blog usage and academic achievement during the study. From the qualitative data, participating teachers perceived the course blogs to be potentially advantageous for students and themselves, yet expressed frustration when implementing the course blogs with their students. Instead, they endorsed the academic use of Facebook, a resource that some students from two participating courses separately utilized instead of (or in addition to) the course blogs during the study. Teachers further expressed concern about relinquishing their subject knowledge and AP expertise to readily available course content on the Internet. Implications and suggestions for future f or AP social studi / teachers' promising use of Facebook and for researchers investigating the use of socail media at the high school level. / by Seth Alper. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

A presente pesquisa situa-se na interface entre as áreas da psicologia e da fisioterapia e foi construída a partir da proposição de que a prática profissional de fisioterapeutas é influenciada pelos valores pessoais, educação e história particular de cada indivíduo, com alguma contribuição de delineamento durante seus percursos na graduação. O sucesso no tratamento fisioterapêutico de pacientes depende, entre outros fatores, da habilidade do fisioterapeuta em aplicar, na prática, o conhecimento teórico-científico aprendido na graduação. E, mais do que o conhecimento médico-biológico, o acesso ao paciente pelo fisioterapeuta requer também envolvimento no âmbito sociocultural e psicológico. Pressupõe-se que, na graduação de fisioterapia, o aluno depare-se com situações e conteúdos que não são exatamente como antes imaginados e, por consequência, aproprie-se da elaboração de tais situações e conteúdos. As construções de significados a partir do estranhamento somente poderão ser construções particulares, nos seus modos de fazê-las; logo, os novos conteúdos passam a fazer parte de seu repertório particular. Nesse sentido, formar-se em uma profissão exige do indivíduo afastar-se, em parte, de suas expectativas prévias para formar-se em si mesmo como profissional. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, o trabalho foi elaborado a partir das ideias do construtivismo semiótico-cultural a respeito das relações interpessoais e relações indivíduo-mundo, bem como noções da filosofia gadameriana sobre processos formativos. Os objetivos da pesquisa foram: investigar como cada estudante de graduação transforma as próprias tradições (no sentido de Gadamer) e experiências pessoais em conhecimento tácito para atender às demandas do paciente em tratamento fisioterapêutico, em outras palavras, entender processos de Bildung dos graduandos de fisioterapia; como se articulam, na formação profissional, conhecimentos técnico-científicos aprendidos durante a graduação e valores, educação e história particular de cada pessoa que se torna fisioterapeuta. Nos procedimentos metodológicos, foram realizadas entrevistas com oito estudantes do último ano da faculdade de fisioterapia sobre seus percursos na graduação. Os dados obtidos foram analisados qualitativamente e revelaram que a natureza do processo de construção de conhecimento constitui-se nas projeções que o estudante faz sobre seu próprio percurso na faculdade antes mesmo de iniciá-la, e suas concepções vão sendo alteradas conforme o contato com os conteúdos do curso. A partir do confronto entre concepções anteriores com as realidades concretas vividas, os estagiários reconfiguraram suas ações simbólicas (Boesch, 1991). A ressignificação de suas próprias ações simbólicas permitiu a eles lidarem com a realidade percebida de maneira diferente daquela anteriormente imaginada. A ruptura de conceituações prévias oferece ao indivíduo as possibilidades para reflexão sobre seu modo de ser no exercício profissional. Nesse sentido, a variabilidade e a qualidade das experiências com determinados pacientes poderão favorecer os processos de crescimento profissional. Igualmente, cabe ao âmbito acadêmico favorecer subsídios para que cada estudante em formação se reconheça no processo de constante vir a ser para que a prática profissional seja (re)elaborada o tempo todo, com base na interação fisioterapeuta-paciente de cada atendimento. A partir do pressuposto de que áreas acadêmicas da saúde estão pautadas na biologização de conteúdos, o que remonta à abstração de pacientes de suas próprias subjetividades para serem tomados como objetos de estudo, este estudo pode nortear a reflexão a respeito de práticas pedagógicas que considerem o paciente como um corpo dotado de sentidos que estão, o tempo todo, sendo reelaborados em cada interação no meio social em que vivem / This research is based on the interface between areas of psychology and physiotherapy and was constructed based on the proposal that the professional practice of physiotherapists is influenced by personal values, education and personal history of each individual, along with some contribution of design during their University undergraduate studies. The success of physiotherapeutic treatment of patients depends, among other factors, on the physiotherapists ability to apply to their practice the theoretical knowledge learned at college. And, beyond the medical-biological knowledge, the access to the patient by the physiotherapist also requires involvement in the sociocultural and psychological spheres. It is assumed that the student pursuing a physiotherapy undergraduate degree faces situations and contents that are not exactly as previously imagined and, consequently, absorb the elaboration of such situations and contents. Construction of meanings out of strangeness can only be personal constructions, hence the new contents become their own particular repertoire. In this sense, training in a profession requires that the individual partially detaches from previous expectations, towards a self-development as a professional. In order to develop the research, it was drawn from the ideas of semiotic-cultural constructivism regarding interpersonal relations and individual-world relations, as well as the notions of Gadamerian philosophy on formative processes. The objectives of the research were: to investigate how each undergraduate student transforms their own traditions (Gadamers sense) and personal experiences in tacit knowledge to meet the patient\'s demands in physiotherapeutic treatment. In other words, to understand Bildung processes of Physiotherapy undergraduates; The connection in professional training between technical-scientific knowledge learned during undergraduate studies and values, education and particular history of each person who becomes a physiotherapist. In the methodological procedures, an interview was conducted with eight students of last year of physiotherapy college about their pathways while seeking a degree. The data obtained were analyzed qualitatively, thus revealing that the nature of the process of knowledge construction is constituted by the projections that the student makes about their own trajectory in college before its beginning. These conceptions are changed according to students contact with course contents. From the confrontation between previous conceptions with concrete realities experienced, the trainees reconfigured their symbolic actions (Boesch, 1991). The re-signification of their simple actions allowed them to deal with a perceived reality differently from that previously imagined. The rupture of previous conceptualizations offers an individual as possibilities for reflection on their way of being in the professional practice. In this sense, the variable and quality of experiences with patients may favor professional growth processes. Likewise, it is up to the academic field to favor subsidies so that the student in training recognizes themselves in a constant \"becoming\" process so that the professional practice gets constantly (re) elaborated, based on the physiotherapist-patient interaction of each appointment. From the assumption that the academic areas of health are rooted in the \"biologization\" of contents, which goes back to the abstraction of patients from their philosophical subjectivities to be considered subject of study; this research may orientate the thought about pedagogical practices that consider the patient as a body endowed with senses that are, all the time, being reinvented through each interaction in the social environment in which they live

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo investigar, a partir da linha de pesquisa “Pensamento do Professor", as crenças e representações dos professores do ensino fundamental a respeito do construtivismo, dos parâmetros curriculares nacionais e das inovações pedagógicas decorrentes da nova LDB. Foi realizada entrevista de profundidade, semi-estruturada, com quarenta professores do ensino fundamental, em duas Escolas da Rede Pública de Ensino de uma cidade do interior de São Paulo, em duas sessões. A primeira buscava a contextualização da formação, história e prática profissional dos professores e teve, ainda, como objetivo, o estabelecimento de um vínculo mais favorável que facilitasse a participação dos entrevistados. A segunda sessão investigou as crenças e representações em relação ao construtivismo, aos PCN e as inovações do ensino atual. Os resultados das entrevistas gravadas e transcritas literalmente foram submetidos à Análise de Conteúdo. Revelaram que a maioria dos professores não é desfavorável às mudanças no cotidiano escolar, pois acreditam que estas são necessárias e importantes. O que não concordam é a maneira como estas transformações são implantadas e conduzidas. A grande maioria dos professores revelou ter uma noção imprecisa e, às vezes, até equivocada sobre o construtivismo. Para muitos deles, este é um método de ensino, cuja característica essencial é a criança construir seu próprio conhecimento. Quanto aos PCN, a grande maioria demonstrou uma visão superficial, e que se sentem obrigados a inseri-los nos seus planejamentos e na sua prática, embora não tenham conhecimento de que a fundamentação teórica dos PCN, seja a perspectiva construtivista. Os poucos que falaram desse assunto, também, não têm muito clareza sobre esta relação. Quanto às inovações pedagógicas, a maior parte deles declarou que estas não estão orientando, devidamente, o trabalho docente e se sentem despreparados e desrespeitados pelas políticas educacionais. Não se mostraram favoráveis à progressão continuada, pois declararam que ela trouxe muito desconforto e insegurança na realização das atividades escolares. A grande maioria se considera despreparada para trabalhar com o construtivismo, com os PCN e com a progressão continuada, por falta de estudos, de orientações e de apoio da escola. Percebeu-se que, para os professores, as reformas estão sendo feitas de forma imposta, tendo que assimilá-las muito rapidamente. Eles acreditam que, se as mudanças no ensino fossem bem trabalhadas, trariam bons resultados. Os dados encontrados confirmam a literatura consultada. Destaca-se, entre as implicações educacionais enunciadas, maior investimento e empenho na formação inicial e continuada dos professores. O conhecimento, as experiências dos professores e o contexto educacional precisam ser levados em conta, quando se pretendem fazer as mudanças, no ensino, serem bem sucedidas. O processo de reforma educacional precisa oferecer espaços de reflexão para o professor e estes deveriam estar, em algum grau mínimo, pelo menos, envolvidos no processo de elaboração das propostas de mudanças no ensino, bem como terem o devido respaldo depois da sua implantação, podendo assim contribuir para o sucesso destas / The objective of the present study was to investigate, based on the Teacher\'s Thought research line, the beliefs and representations of basic education teachers concerning constructivism, the national curricular parameters and the pedagogic innovations derived from the new LDB. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were held with forty basic education teachers at two schools of the Public Education Network in a city in the interior of the state of São Paulo, in two sessions. The objective of the first was to determine the context of the training, history and professional practice of the teachers and also to establish a more favorable tie that would facilitate the participation of the interviewees. The second interview investigated the beliefs and representations concerning the constructivism, the national curricular parameters and the innovations of current teaching. The results of the interviews, which were taped and transcribed literally, were submitted to content analysis and revealed that most of the teachers are not unfavorable to changes in daily school activity since they believe that such changes are necessary and important. What they do not agree about is the way these transformations are implanted and conducted. Most of the teachers were found to have an imprecise and, at times, even equivocal notion of constructivism. According to many of them, this is a teaching method whose essential characteristic is that the child constructs his/her own knowledge. With respect to the national curricular parameters, most teachers showed a superficial vision and feel obliged to insert them into their planning and practice although they are not aware of the fact that the theoretical foundation of the national curricular parameters is the constructivist perspective. The few who talked about this topic were also unclear about this relation. As to the pedagogic innovations, most of the teachers declared that these innovations are not duly orienting the teaching task and that they feel unprepared for, and disrespected by, the educational policies. They were not favorable to continued progression, which they consider to bring a lot of discomfort and insecurity in the execution of school activities. Most of them feel unprepared to work with constructivism, with the national curricular parameters or with continued progression because of lack of study, of guidelines and of support from the school. It could be seen that the teachers feel that the reforms are being imposed and must be assimilated very rapidly. They believe that, if the changes in teaching were properly treated they would bring good results. The data obtained confirm literature reports. Among the educational implications stated, we emphasize a greater investment and engagement in the initial and continued training of teachers. The knowledge, experience and educational context of the teachers should be taken into account if successful changes in teaching are desired. The process of educational reform must offer space for reflexion to the teachers, who should be involved, at least at a minimal level, in the process of elaboration of the proposals of changes in education and should then receive the proper support after their implantation, so as to be able to contribute to their success

O presente trabalho investiga acerca do papel do outro no processo de aquisição da escrita pela criança. Emilia Ferreiro inaugurou uma abordagem da aquisição da escrita tendo como referência a teoria construtivista piagetiana. Suas pesquisas tiveram grande impacto no meio educacional brasileiro e geraram polêmicas em torno da questão do caráter social da linguagem escrita e do papel do outro na sua aprendizagem. A partir da análise das formulações de Ferreiro, são discutidos estudos que recorrem a outros referenciais teóricos (histórico-culturais e sociológicos) na consideração do aspecto social implicado no processo de aquisição da escrita pela criança, operando um deslocamento no que diz respeito à concepção de linguagem e de sua inserção no campo social. O terceiro, e mais importante, referencial diz respeito à teoria psicanalítica da constituição do sujeito, capaz de fornecer elementos para a consideração da questão de uma perspectiva não sociológica, nem histórico-cultural, porque discute o efeito de sua representação pelo significante. A partir da noção de Outro e das operações de alienação e separação, este trabalho pretende contribuir com o debate sobre o papel do outro na aquisição da escrita e fornecer ferramentas para a interlocução com a perspectiva psicogenética. / The following Masters thesis aims at dealing with the role of the other in the process of writing acquisition sustained by the child. Emilia Ferreira founded an approach to the matter of writing acquisition referenced in Piagetian constructivism theory. Her researches had a great impact in Brazilian educational field as well as generated controversies around the question of the social character of language and the role of the other in learning. From Ferreiros works analyses we here discuss other studies which depart from other theoretical references (historical-cultural, and sociological ones) in order to consider the social aspects implied in the childs writing acquisition process, displacing the language conception and its insertion within the social field. Our third, thus the more important, reference regards the psychoanalytical theory of Subject formation, which is able to provide elements to interpreting the referred question not in a sociological perspective, nor in a historical-cultural one, once it discusses the effect of representation by the Significant. Therefore, from the notion of the Other and its operation of alienation and separation, this work intends to contribute to the debate on the role of the other in writing acquisition and provide tools to a dialogue with the psychogenetics perspective.

Esta dissertação trata das Fotoformas, obra fotográfica produzida por Geraldo de Barros entre o final da década de 1940 e o início da seguinte. O conjunto é diversificado, pois possui imagens que podem ser vinculadas tanto ao Construtivismo, quanto a poéticas ligadas à revitalização do Expressionismo na arte internacional no segundo pós-guerra, ou a vanguardas da fotografia moderna como a Nova Visão, entre outros movimentos. Através da investigação dos grupos e ambientes artísticos freqüentados por Barros (Grupo XV, MAM/SP, Masp, Biblioteca Municipal de São Paulo, Grupo Ruptura, Setor de Terapia Ocupacional do Hospital Psiquiátrico Pedro II e Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante) percebe-se como ele conheceu algumas das referências identificadas em sua obra. Além disso, o trabalho analisa a relação das Fotoformas com as idéias de Mário Pedrosa, crítico considerado pelo artista como seu mentor intelectual. A partir desse mapeamento, a reflexão volta-se para o significado específico dessas referências no contexto cultural paulistano do período estudado. A concomitância de tradições, a princípio díspares, nas Fotoformas, encontra uma justificativa teórica no pensamento desenvolvido por Pedrosa: suas idéias sobre as origens da arte moderna, o conceito de arte virgem e a Teoria da Gestalt. / This dissertation is about Fotoformas, the Geraldo de Barros photographic work made between the end of 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s. The set is diversified because it has pictures linked to the Constructivism, to neo-expressionists poetics arisen in the international art after 1945, or to modern photographic vanguards like the New Vision, among others movements. Through an investigation on the artistic groups and environments frequented by Barros (Group XV, MAM/SP, Municipal Library of São Paulo, Rupture Group, Occupational Therapy Section of the Psychiatric Hospital Pedro II, Bandeirante Photo Cine Club) we can discern how he had known some references identified in his work. Moreover, the research analyses the relation between the Fotoformas and the Mário Pedrosas ideas, art critic considered by the artist like his intellectual mentor. From this survey, the reflection turns about to the specific meaning of these references in the cultural context studied. The concomitancy of different artistic traditions in Fotoformas finds a theoretical explanation in the Pedrosas thoughts: his ideas on the modern art roots, the virgin art concept and the Gestalt Theory.