MODELAGEM MATEMÁTICA: UMA INTERPRETAÇÃO A PARTIR DE LENTES SEMIÓTICAS

Abstract

Our goal with this paper is to examine what the signs produced/manifested by students during a mathematical modeling activity reveal about Mathematical Modeling through their epistemological triangles. The activity thus analyzed corresponds to the 3^rd moment of familiarization with Mathematical Modeling, that is, the theme that generates the activity is suggested by the students themselves. Taking these references as theoretical basis, we construct the epistemological triangles of a mathematical modeling activity carried out by a group of fourth-year female undergraduates enrolled in a Mathematics Teaching Degree in a public university in Paraná, Brazil, as part of a Mathematical Modelling class. All of our methodological decisions follow a qualitative research methodology, as our intent is to carry out an interpretative analysis of the signs. The results show that the students’ knowledge (or lack thereof) – exhibited in the mathematical models when they were made or in relation to the mathematical objects, manifested through signs and indicated in the epistemological triangles – expose the characteristic elements of a mathematical modeling activity and dynamic character inherent to Mathematical Modeling.