DIDACTICAL SUITABILITY CRITERIA IN A TRAINING CYCLE: WHAT DID TEACHERS WHO TEACH MATHEMATICS UNDERSTAND?

Abstract

This article analyzes understandings developed by mathematics teachers regarding Didactical Suitability Criteria (DSC) during a Training Cycle conducted with graduates of professional master’s programs and basic education teachers from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The study aimed to understand how teachers interpreted and mobilized DSC while reflecting on their pedagogical practice, seeking to identify which components were more easily understood and accepted as guiding criteria for improving teaching and learning processes. This qualitative and naturalistic study was based on narratives produced through the full recordings of the Training Cycle, analyzed through triangulation with specialists in the DSC theoretical construct. The Pythagorean Theorem was adopted as the reference mathematical object to promote reflections on the epistemic and cognitive criteria. Results showed that components such as prior knowledge, adaptation to individual differences, learning, errors, ambiguities, and richness of processes were readily recognized and accepted by participants, as they resonated with knowledge and experiences already present in teaching practice. In contrast, components such as representativeness of the complexity of the mathematical notion and high cognitive demand required greater theoretical mediation and didactical-mathematical training. The study concludes that DSC constitute a relevant tool for organizing teacher reflection and fostering the replanning of mathematics teaching practices.