Formative demands in algebra teaching: a review of the feedback provided by teachers of Mathematics in 5th grade of primary education

Abstract

This article corresponds to the analyses and reflections resulting from a research study entitled Formative Demands of Mathematics Teachers in the 5^th Grade of Primary Education: a study in Cuiabá’s Municipal Schools, conducted by a group of seven researchers from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) from 2021 through 2023. The goal of this study is to verify how algebraic knowledge manifested itself from the formative demands of teachers participating in the research. The data were taken from the initial and final surveys to which 5^th grade teachers responded, from participation in synchronous meetings, from the participation of asynchronous activities, and from the records kept by the researchers throughout the formative action. We concluded that it is fundamental to explore in formative actions, with teachers-pedagogists, the conceptual objects of algebra that these educators should raise during the early stages, demystifying the idea that this area concerns only the use of letters, thus expanding the comprehension of the relations present in algebraic knowledge and the potential of its teaching. Moreover, we reinforce the idea that continuing education actions are with (and not for) teachers, in order to focus on their needs regarding mathematical knowledge, so that these challenges that are part of reality in the classroom and impact in student learning are faced.