Uma análise sobre a valorização do conceito de máximo e mínimo por estudantes do ensino médio

Abstract

The present work is a study that seeks to enrich the approaches of Mathematics Teaching, specifically on the topic, that involves the concepts of Maximum and Minimum experienced in the High School. This concept is normally approached in optimization problems suggested in didactic books through of contextualized exercises, which propose students’ abilities to identify and valorize such concepts on a daily basis. The concept of maximum and minimum are present in our life in various situations, for example, identify the vehicle flow in certain time at the traffic signal, manufacturing of a product packing where the manufacturer wants to propose a minimum of spending for this packaging, among other situation. In the sense of understand what valorization students show to this concept, we propose a research through a sequence of four activities where we will explore different methodologies Through the use of pencil end paper, use of software, manipulation material, in which students would solve the exercises to encourage the process of identification and valorization of these concepts. The study’s results point that the teacher do not effectively experience the various ways of approach from this subject in the school; explore more than one way of this approach enable to identify the possible difficulties that happens in the contet valuing; the students despite inferring, compare and explore these concepts in a more significant way, do not realize the value that must be attributed to the concepts, the comprehension of maximum and minimum are very complex to students and the teacher do not notice the size of this complex. In this sense, other relevant point is develop of three other aspects that we will not adventure investigate, and that can lead to new studies, for example, how observe teacher’s work as the practice of various methodologies used for attend this subject in the schoolroom; what importance does the teacher give to this mathematical knowledge present in our daily life; and how do students classify this concept, as an everyday or purely mathematical knowledge?