O Colégio de aplicação da UMG/UFMG: memórias, práticas educativas e ensino de Matemática (1954-1968)

Abstract

In this work, we present a history of the College Application of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), its memories, educational practices and the teachingof Mathematics from 1954 to 1968. For the construction of this narrative, we prioritize the constitution of historical sources through interviews with alumni, staff and teachers, carried out using the Oral History methodology. The interviews aimed, primarily, the elaboration of memories about the teaching and learning practices of Mathematics, as well as to get to know the subjects' perceptions about this discipline at the College since its creation, in 1954, until the year 1968. We interviewed sixteen former students, three mathematics teachers and a pedagogical advisor on pedagogical practices, methodologies, resources employed and didactic materials used in teaching mathematics. The conversations were recorded, transcribed and textualized to constitute a set of eleven narratives. In addition to these narratives, we analyzed different documents from the school, such as the minutes books, the school report, the photographs, the point book and the admission book. We presented narratives that characterize the College, including aspects of its trajectory for a better understanding of the research scenario; we talked about the organization of the College of Application (institutional structure, Admission exam, pedagogical practices and the school space); we focused on the students of the College (the socioeconomic profile of the students, the students' socialization practices, their motivations for having chosen the institution and some aspects of their school routine); we talk about the teachers (the way of admission of the teachers, the training processes of the mathematics teachers interviewed, the courses taken and their teaching experiences); and we approach the teaching of mathematics, the heart of the investigation. The results found show that the mathematics teaching practices at the “Colégio de Aplicação” were very similar to those of a common secondary school, governed by the current teaching legislation, using the lecture as the main pedagogical technique and strong participation of the textbook, that served as a guide to the curriculum and lesson plan. We also verified that the College did not adopt more modern practices present in other schools of the same period and served students who belonged, in most cases, to the most favored socioeconomic classes.