O portfólio como instrumento de avaliação: concepções e percepções de professores de matemática.

Abstract

This master thesis was developed in the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Matemática (PPGEMAT) of the Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel). It sought to understand the conceptions and perceptions of Mathematics teachers about the use of the portfolio as an assessment instrument. It is argued that the use of the portfolio is important for all students in the classroom because it respects individualities and, thus, the teacher can individually follow the students’ learning and their doubts. The main theoretical references that supported this research are Villas Boas (2012), for the definition of portfolio, and Luckesi (2011), for the study on evaluation. The research used qualitative research methodology, analyzing data from an online continuing education. The researcher proposed this continuing education. The main information on the use of the portfolio as an assessment in Mathematics was problematized. It was offered to Mathematics teachers of the final years of elementary and high school of the public school system throughout Brazil. The course lasted eight weeks and began with fifty teachers. Only eleven have completed and received the four-hour certification. Questionnaires were applied before and after continuing education to produce data. During the continuing education, the teachers experienced the creation of a reflective portfolio (digital, mixed and devolutive), stimulated by the researcher, to think about the assessment process in Mathematics. From the continuing education offered, it was considered with the participating teachers about the use they made of the portfolio, learning about the instrument while elaborating it, and the possibility of using it with their students. The answers of the questionnaires, applied before and after continuing education were collected, analyzed and classified according to their similarities. The portfolios were also analyzed during the continuing education with each feedback made by the researcher. It is concluded, from the differences found between the answers before the continuing education (conceptions) and the answers after it (perceptions), that the teachers re-signified their concepts about portfolio and the assessment proposals for their students and for their own work as Mathematics teachers. Thus, it is expected that the research will contribute to the assessment process of Basic Education Mathematics.