Possibilidades do uso do celular para o ensino de funções trigonométricas por meio de tarefas investigativas

Abstract

Although the cell phone is present in the daily routine of many people, even entering the school environment, there is resistance to its use in this context. In this sense, this research sought to investigate possibilities and limitations of using an application for smart phones, mediated by an investigative task, for the apprehension of concepts related to the graphic behavior of trigonometric functions. Seeking ways to reach the established objective, qualitative research procedures were used, an investigative task being elaborated, with the help of the Photomath application, carried out in the context of a class of a 3rd year of High School class. Due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV2, the intervention steps took place remotely, through the Google Meet platform. The data sources for the research were the recordings of class moments on Google Meet, a field diary with the researcher's observations, an interview with the assistant teacher, a diagnostic activity and a questionnaire applied to the students. For data analysis, three axes emerging from the intervention itself were used: (1) the manifestation of mathematical knowledge during the stages of the investigative task; (2) student engagement with the Photomath app in remote classes; and (3) the presence of skills such as creating hypotheses, building strategies and verifying them from the investigative task using the Photomath application. It was possible to identify the students' familiarity with the use of cell phones and technology, with some difficulty initially regarding the pedagogical use of the proposed application, as well as the assimilation of the investigative proposal. Despite this, it is clear that in the course of the investigations, the students showed an advance in mathematical knowledge, exploring various graphs, elaborating and testing conjectures, in addition to working on the construction of properties. There were limitations regarding the dynamicity of the Photomath application, as well as the plotting of certain functions. However, the importance of inserting the cell phone in the classroom environment is highlighted, allowing students to feel motivated and able to work with mathematical concepts and to perceive the richness of this tool for their learning.