Building pyramids through the interactive cycle in initial teacher training

Abstract

Discussing content of mathematics and its teaching is contributing to the advent of new methodological strategies in order to make the educational process more efficient. In the context of undergraduate courses, the discussion in this training environment provides the opportunity for the graduate to have better skills and competences to plan and execute reflective classes in the construction of knowledge. In this sense, a workshop on the construction of pyramids was proposed in a teaching practice class at a university located in the interior of the state of Amazonas. The methodological approach adopted in the intervention is the interactive cycle that integrates interactively structured stages to promote learning. The group of sixteen students was divided into four groups and the phases had the presentation of the Quéops' pyramid, perpendicular lines, medians, equilateral triangle and regular tetrahedron. In the evaluation stages, the construction of an oblique pyramid was requested and this activity allowed the discussion of the relationship between its volume and the cube. A straight pyramid with a square base was also built by the future teachers, in which the solid led to a re-discussion about the Quéops' pyramid, which has a similar shape, closing the cycle of activities planned for the intervention. The results show that the students were able to follow the construction of polyhedra and when immersed in activities of the same nature, they are able to apply the acquired knowledge to other pyramid formats. With the interactive cycle completed, this methodology can be understood as an appropriate route to carry out tasks that promote learning.