Contributions of the use of photographic images in Mathematics classes: constructing knowledge through a Design-Based Research

Abstract

The present study investigated the contributions that a pedagogical intervention conducted with in-service elementary school teachers, based on Design-Based Research (DBR) and utilizing an educational product composed of photographic images related to concepts of plane geometry, can offer to the teaching and learning of this content. The educational product consists of a "Mathematical Pathway," as a proposed solution to the problem defined by the participants. It benefited from the collaboration of a research group comprising teachers, students, and researchers from the University <some items have been removed for blind review>, who evaluated the proposal before its implementation. From the obtained results, design principles were defined, such as: connection to local and cultural reality; use of photographic images as a teaching resource; dynamics of the "Mathematical Pathway"; integration of technological resources; collaborative work; reflections on the participants' classroom practices; creation of a teaching and learning environment characterized by the exchange of theoretical and practical knowledge; perception of the feasibility of producing potentially meaningful educational material through the use of photographic images; and connections between Mathematics and the local and cultural context.