Teaching Science and Mathematics Education

The PPGECEM - Graduate program in Teaching Science and Mathematics Education is an innovative initiative of an interdisciplinary group of effective professors of the Federal University of Lavras, linked to the departments of Exact Sciences (DEX), Chemistry (DQI) and Education (DED). This initiative is part of the academic experience of its proponents. The group of professors that constitutes the PPGECEM has a common history of active participation in the implantation and consolidation of the undergraduate courses in Chemistry (2001), Mathematics (2007) and Physics (2009) in the institution, with effective participation in the orientation of research at the level of Scientific Initiation and of Undergraduate Final Project. In particular, the majority of the group was consolidated in its theoretical-methodological formation and in its formative practice by the effective action in the Institutional Program of Scholarships Initiation to Teaching, PIBID, initiated at the institution in 2009 and covering all the licenses of UFLA.  The proposal to offer the Professional Master's Degree Program in Teaching Science and Mathematics Education is consistent with the public policies implemented by the Ministry of Education in order to prioritize actions aimed at improving the initial and continued training of teachers. In this sense, it is reiterated that the feasibility of training quality teachers is currently a public commitment made by the Union and various authorities, especially in states and municipalities where effective improvements in the accessibility conditions of citizens to schools are sought, as well as new ways of guaranteeing to the public a quality education that is a means for insertion of the individual in the modern technological society. Therefore, we highlight some principles that guide the graduate program: the school should be seen as a territory that allows the continuity of the training of professionals who work in it, as well as a multicultural territory that has its own culture; teacher education is a lifelong continuous process; science and mathematics education should be practiced in schools and it is fundamental for the formation of citizens; the teaching of science and mathematics favors the autonomy of the individual in society, preparing them for decision-making on socio-scientific issues and themes.     Target Audience The PPGCM will be intended primarily for graduates in the areas of Physics, Chemistry or Mathematics, with a bachelor's degree or teaching license, or teachers with expertise in the areas of concentration in Physics, Chemistry or Mathematics. Given its characteristic of being a professional master's degree, it aims to meet the demand for continuing education of elementary school teachers, as well as the training of teachers for higher education in the region.