THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTENT KNOWLEDGE BY TEACHERS IN COMMUNICATION MEDIATED BY MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE

This article presents the results of a doctoral research and discusses the knowledge of teachers working in the Early Years of Elementary Education and the implications of using mathematical language in the development of algebraic thinking. The aim is to explore the teachers' knowledge, focusing on content knowledge and its implications for establishing communication mediated by mathematical language, which can foster the development of algebraic thinking. The goal is to provoke reflections that might contribute to a (re)signification of Mathematics Education in the Early Years of Elementary School. The data was collected during four formative meetings with two teachers working in the 4th grade of a public school. These meetings were recorded through audio and video, and the transcriptions of these recordings served as the instruments for analysis. The data approach is qualitative, and the analysis was organized through Discursive Textual Analysis. The results suggest that mathematical concepts in the Early Years are being taught by the teachers through common language use, as they have conceptual weaknesses, indicating the need to improve content knowledge. It is concluded that content knowledge is essential for the teacher’s actions to be intentionally organized in a way that the communication established in the learning environment allows for a dialogic relationship between the individuals, mediated by mathematical language and other semiotic systems. Furthermore, Continuous Professional Development, with specific studies in each knowledge area, is essential for teaching practice and for enhancing content knowledg.