Classroom Research and Mathematical Modeling

a conversation with Maurivan Güntzel Ramos

Abstract

This article aims to pay tribute to Maurivan Güntzel Ramos by highlighting one of the many dimensions of his significant contribution to Science Education. The best way to honor a researcher is to revisit his work, recover his ideas, and highlight the contributions he leaves to the education of other researchers and to the advancement of knowledge in his field. To this end, the text presents an excerpt from a doctoral thesis that categorizes relationships between research as an educational principle and mathematical modeling, based on an analysis of the conceptions of different researchers in both fields. This excerpt revisits Maurivan Güntzel Ramos›s conceptions, as evidenced in an interview conducted in July 2022, especially those related to the stages of classroom research and the relationships between students› original work and the model. Ramos coordinated the Graduate Program in Science and Mathematics Education at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul and served as deputy coordinator of Academic Programs in the Teaching Area of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior during the 2017-2020 Quadrennial Evaluation, leaving an extensive body of publications in Chemistry and Science Education. Drawing on excerpts from his responses, the article revisits aspects of his thinking about the stages of classroom research, highlighting parallels with the mathematical modeling process, convergences between the procedures adopted in the two approaches, and relationships between the original work produced by students in classroom research and the model produced through mathematical modeling. By bringing Maurivan Güntzel Ramos›s voice and reflections back into view, this text seeks to document and value part of the academic legacy of a researcher whose career made relevant contributions to research, researcher education, and Science Education.